- Wartawan Nabalu News
Sunduan Nabalu discusses traditional education, culture development with Deputy Chief Minister
5 March 2023
By Wartawan Nabalu News
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Customary Practicioners' Association (Sunduan Nabalu) paid a courtesy visit to Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan at his office on Saturday.
Among the matters discussed during the two-hour meeting include a full report of Sunduan Nabalu's progress, their 15-year blueprint (2019 - 2034) on the development of traditional education and culture of Sabah natives, and the application for an annual funding for the development of their Customary Schools.
Sunduan Nabalu president Shalmon Sanangan said they had also briefed him on the launch of their inaugural "1st Borneo Cultural and Traditional Education Carnival" as well as the Suang Mongkobung Customary School in Telipok, which is expected to be officiated by Jeffrey on March 19.
"This first ever carnival aims to conserve, maintain, develop and dignify the identity of native people of Sabah through the development of our Customary Schools. With a jamboree concept, the carnival will start on March 18 to 19, where we will converge and camp at Suang Mongkobung Customary School," he said.
Established in 2019, Sunduan Nabalu was set up to protect the culture and customs of indigenous people of Sabah, in light of the reduced usage of Sabahans' respective mother tongue and general knowledge of their native group as a result of the technology boom.
They have built many Customary Schools in various Sabah districts to teach the language, culture and traditions of Sabah native groups to prevent their rich history from turning obsolete, and to dignify the status of indigenous people in the state.
It is also learnt that they are currently in cooperation with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Borneo Institute for Indigenous Studies (BORIIS) to offer study programmes on culture and customs of Sabah natives at the university.
