Yes! 90pc museum pieces ‘hidden’

Kota Kinabalu: A former Sabah Museum Director has confirmed a Daily Express report that up to 90 per cent of historical exhibits meant for public viewing have been locked away for ages due to lack of space to display them.

“It’s time to have a new museum building,” said Datuk Jamdin Buyong, who served as its Director for three years from 1994 to 1996.

He also proposed that the Kota Kinabalu Community Hall be turned into a city museum while the old Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) building and the Turnbull Hall at Sabah College be established as a Broadcasting Museum and Education Museum, respectively.

“The more network of museums we have, the better,” he said, adding that many historical items surrendered to the museum never saw the light of day as they were immediately stored in the museum’s conservation centre, to the disappointment of those who parted with them.

Jamdin believes that the Government can make it happen if it really wants, including having a Chinese Cultural Gallery which was also a concept that he had toyed with representatives from Chinese cultural organisations.

He said the proposed gallery could be established in the State Museum or managed by the private sector.

Recently, the Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) said it was willing to undertake the setting up of the Chinese Heritage Museum in the State.

Awarded the “Tokoh Budaya Sabah” in 2002, Jamdin stressed the importance of preserving buildings or sites which have high historical value in Sabah, aware that in the past many such buildings and sites were demolished to make way for infrastructure development.

“In my own village in Putatan, there was a mosque and Chinese temple which are old and unique.

But their original structure was not preserved during renovation.”

He also recalled that before he became the Director, a big mansion in Kinarut built in 1910 was left to ruins and was a target of treasure hunters.

“What’s left to be preserved were some pillars and walls that are still standing.

“This was a piece of important history that takes us back to the days of the Chartered Company,” stressed Jamdin, who immediately took measures to preserve and gazette the building as a historical heritage.

Another building of historical value that was nearly demolished was the Kota Kinabalu Community Centre.

He said it was strong objection on his part as State Museum Director and brave reporting by the Daily Express that prevented such fate. He remembers one of the Daily Express front page headlines in 1996 screaming “No Way”. The State Government eventually backed down from demolishing it.

Jamdin revealed for the first time that his strong stand for the sake of Sabah cost him the Director job as he was soon transferred out.

[Daily Express understands that a particular Minister exacted revenge on Jamdin as a shopping complex he promised to a developer could not materialise due to the objection. Ironically, this politician is now in the opposition supposedly fighting to save Sabah.

The KK Community Centre was one of the earliest public structures to be built after the war and was designed by pioneer architect Billings Leong. It was the venue for Cobbold Commission hearings on the wishes of the people to the Malaysia proposal. It was also where late Donald Stephens (later Tun Fuad) tried and failed to persuade Dusuns to drop that name and go under the calling of Kadazans.

It is believed that Stephens intention in doing so was to justify for himself a place on the Malaysia negotiating table as leader of the non-Muslim natives, seeing that the Dusuns under Sedomon were against the Malaysia proposal, and hence not in the good books of the British and eventually sidelined.

When the Dusuns (especially interior natives) still maintained their stand even a year after independence through the formation of Malaysia on 16.9.1963, a compromise to win them over was effected with the erection of an oath stone (Batu Sumpah) where the Federal Government promised to honour through the key words “Kerajaan Malaysia Jamin (Malaysian Government guarantees)” three of the 20 points safeguards that mattered to them most, i.e. on religious freedom, adat (customs) and land.

The KK Community Centre was also where the then PBS Government under Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan (now Tan Sri) announced that it was ditching the Barisan Nasional coalition on the eve of general elections in 1990 that led to Umno taking over the State administration within four years].

Meanwhile, Jamdin praised the government of the day for wanting to gazette seven more state heritage sites to make the total to 31 to date.

He noted that the seven sites to be gazetted are the old RTM building, Turnbull Hall at Sabah College, Kent Teachers Training Centre in Tuaran, Tinagat lighthouse in Tawau and the Melalap train station in Tenom.

He also noted that among the sites which have been gazetted as Sabah’s historical heritage are the Kota Kinabalu Community Centre, the Atkinson Clock Tower, the Kota Kinabalu old post office, Mat Salleh monument in Tambunan and the Bukit Tengkorak archeological site in Semporna.

In April last year, State Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming told the State Assembly that two new museums were being developed in Kudat and Ranau, which would be an addition to the existing 11 museums and galleries in Sabah.

Source: Daily Express