Sipaun in trouble over ‘British better than Malaya’ remark

Luke Rintod

The ex-Suhakam man has been questioned by the police for saying life in Sabah was better under the British administration.

KOTA KINABALU: Police have started questioning several people following a complaint made against Malaysian Human Rights Commission’s (Suhakam) former vice-chairman Simon Sipaun in Kota Kinabalu last month.

Sipaun, a former state secretary, caused some embarrassment for state political leaders when he said during his concluding remarks as chair of an inter-party dialogue session, that life in Sabah was better in many aspects under the British administration compared now, almost 50 years after it joined Malaya to form the Malaysian Federation in 1963.

Among those who have been called in for questioning is the president of the Common Interest Group Malaysia (CigMa), Daniel John Jambun. He will report to the state police headquarters in Kepayan on Tuesday (April 12).

FMT learned that Jambun had been summoned to give his statement as a follow-up on two police reports made by two Sabah Umno divisions in Tawau on the state’s the east-coast.

The Sabah Umno divisions in their police reports had alleged that the former state secretary was misleading and seditious in his remarks.

So far Sabah police have not made any public announcement on who would be called apart from Jambun and Sipaun to assist in their investigation.

Sipaun when contacted, confirmed to FMT that he had already been questioned by the police several days ago.

Sipaun said he explained to the police his task was to chair the panel session and at the end to make a summary of the discussion in a concluding remarks.

“I gave the police a copy of my remarks. It included my sharing with the audience of my memory on Sabah before it became part of Malaysia. I was already 25 years old when Malaysia was formed…” he said adding that the police officer who recorded his statement was very polite, pleasant and professional.

Stating the truth

Sipaun also told FMT he was not aware if other activists had been interviewed over his remarks but hastened to say that he had a feeling that the authorities are interested in the matter because the dialogue was not organised by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) party but by the United Borneo Front (UBF).

When Umno lodged the police reports, the elderly and highly respected Sipaun said he was amused that certain quarters should lodge police reports against him for stating the truth based on his own pleasant memories of life in Sabah during the colonial administration.

“What is wrong for me to tell the people what I remembered of Sabah, then known as North Borneo, before Malaysia was formed?  After all I was 25 then and know what I was talking about,” he explained, adding that he was not against the Malaysia Agreement, but only stating that life was better during the colonial days.

Sipaun ruffled feathers in political circles in the state after his comments were widely published that life in Sabah was  considerably better in many aspects before Malaysia was formed.

He also drew comparisons of how Malaya then was just as under-developed but that Sabah had fallen very far behind the peninsula now.