The Alphabet Soup of Identity: Why Reducing Sabah’s Rich Heritage to Abbreviations is a Flawed Logic

​By Datuk Henrynus Amin

Former President, Momogun National Congress (MNC)

​A recent proposal by Datuk James Ratib to add the letter "S" to the "KDMR" acronym—expanding it to KDMRS to officially include the Sungai community alongside the Kadazan, Dusun, Murut, and Rungus—has reignited a crucial debate on ethnic identity in Sabah.

​While the intention may be to foster inclusivity, the logic behind using acronyms as official racial identifiers raises serious questions. Ironically, this obsession with engineering an identity through abbreviations is spearheaded almost exclusively by proponents within these specific communities. Meanwhile, other major demographic groups in Sabah—such as the Malay, Bajau, and Chinese populations—have largely remained silent, comfortable and secure in their established, proper ethnic names.

​If we follow the KDMR trajectory to its logical conclusion, Sabah’s demographic landscape risks transforming into an absurd, unsustainable "alphabet soup."

​The Slippery Slope of "Abbreviation or Acronym Identity"

​The core flaw in Ratib's logic is that it establishes a messy precedent. If the Sungai community must be represented by a letter, then by sheer logic and fairness, every other ethnic and sub-ethnic group in Sabah has the right to demand their own letter in the state's identity ledger.

​If we applied this "letter-stacking" formula across Sabah's diverse population, official forms and ethnic classifications would devolve into bureaucratic codes:

​BSOKS: Bajau, Suluk, Obian, Kagayan, Simunul

​MJBBAM: Melayu, Jawa, Bugis, Banjar, Acheh, Minangkabau

​DIBLPK: Dayak, Iban, Bidayuh, Lun Bawang, Penan, Kayan

​CHCHTHFS: Chinese Hakka, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hainan, Foochow, Shantung

​Reducing centuries of history, culture, and unique language down to a string of capital letters strips these communities of their dignity. A person's identity is a proud statement of heritage, not a license plate.

​Is There a Global Precedent?

​To understand how unusual this proposal is, we have to look at how race and ethnicity are defined globally. There is virtually no precedent in the world where an official race or ethnic identity is a literal acronym of combined sub-tribes.

​The Global Standard: Broad Umbrella Terms

​When governments or sociologists need to group diverse indigenous populations, they use inclusive, organic umbrella terms, not abbreviations or acronym.

​In Canada and the US: The indigenous populations consist of hundreds of distinct tribes (Cree, Cherokee, Navajo, Mohawk, etc.). They are collectively called First Nations or Native Americans. They do not use a 50-letter acronym.

​In New Zealand: The various iwi (tribes) are united under the cultural and political umbrella of Māori.

​In Australia: The traditional owners of the land are referred to collectively as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

​Even within Malaysia, the diverse indigenous groups of Sarawak are collectively recognized under the umbrella term Dayak.

​Two Contrasting Approaches to Identity

​This is where the alternative proposal championed by the Momogun National Congress (MNC) offers a more logical and historically sound approach. MNC has long advocated for the use of "Momogun" as a single, inclusive umbrella term, highlighting the stark contrast between the two systems:

​The Acronym System (KDMRS)

​Mechanism: Merges the first letters of specific tribes into a bureaucratic code.

​Psychological Impact: Tends to exclude smaller groups, creating an artificial hierarchy of who gets a "letter" and who does not.

​Cultural Longevity: Weak. Every time a sub-ethnic group asserts itself, the acronym must change to accommodate them.

​The Umbrella System (Momogun)

​Mechanism: Uses a single, culturally rooted historical term to encompass related groups.

​Psychological Impact: Highly inclusive. It allows individual tribes to keep their unique names while sharing a collective, stronger political voice.

​Cultural Longevity: Strong. This method mirrors successful, time-tested global models like the Dayak in Sarawak or the Māori in New Zealand.

​Historically and anthropologically, "Momogun" is an authentic term that unites the indigenous, traditionally agriculturalist communities of Sabah who share deep cultural ties, including the celebration of Kaamatan. It neatly differentiates these interior groups from Sabah's equally vital maritime communities (like the Bajau) and urban Chinese communities without resorting to clunky abbreviations.

​Conclusion: Identity is Not a Corporate Brand

​The system of racial identification via abbreviation or acronym is fundamentally illogical and culturally sterile. It treats human heritage like corporate branding—where adding a partner means adding a letter to the logo.

While the Malay, Bajau, and Chinese communities accept their identities through proper names, the agrarian indigenous peoples of Sabah specifically the the Inland/Highland Native Communities should not have to settle for an ever-expanding acronym. If Sabah continues down the path of KDMRS, it will inevitably alienate the dozens of sub-ethnicities left out of the code. Sabah’s native communities deserve a proper, dignified name—like Momogun—rather than being reduced to a string of letters on a government form.