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Wences

PENAMPANG (July 12): The Momogun National Congress (MNC) is relentless in pushing for the full and undisputed official recognition of the term “Momogun” as a collective name for the indigenous peoples of Sabah.

In his address at the MNC Installation Night here last night, MNC President Tan Sri Wences Angang made the assurance that despite opposition of a small number of Momogun groups, MNC stands by the support and desire of 77 Sabah indigenous NGOs from all over Sabah for Momogun as their collective name.

“We continue to wait for the State Government to pass the MNC’s resolution to adopt the Momogun Declaration which requires that ‘Momogun’ be placed in government forms. We have since a while ago submitted the declaration to the Chief Minister as well as the previous Tuan Yang Terutama Tun Juhar,” he said. “We also await the actual implementation of the new non-politicised format of the Native Court, manned by permanent and pensionable staff,” he said.

As the president who had won uncontested in the last MNC election, Wences said that unity of the Momoguns into a group would significantly raise their status in the demographic makeup of the state.

“If the Kadazans, Dusuns, Muruts, Bisayas, Tidongs and Orang Sungais (Paitanics) were to be counted as separate individual groups, their respective numbers would be small and insignificant. But if they are counted as a group they will exceed the strong one million mark in Sabah’s population of three million,” he said.

“We are now facing a serious existential threat, and for this we will continue our dialogues with the Momogun signatories and other Momogun NGOs to seek ways to counter threats from globalization.

“In part, our approach is to seek worldwide recognition by aligning MNC with the International Indigenous Peoples’ Movement. And for this purpose, MNC is proud to announce that we are now busy organizing for the third time the annual International Indigenous Peoples’ Day to be held in Tenom next month,” he added.

Wences, a former assemblyman and Deputy Chief Minister, who himself is a Momogun from the Tatana ethnic group, also said MNC is also looking into the possibility of organizing the World Rural Development Day, beginning next year in collaboration with the Momogun signatories and other Momogun NGOs.

He stressed that MNC must take advantage of the international day which was declared by the United Nation’s General Assembly last July 6 to reaffirm the UN’s unwavering commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Quoting Manjira Mathai, the Managing Director For Global Partnership and AFRICA, World Economic Institute, Wences said, “Rural communities are the quiet wheels that power our world: hubs of food production, guardians of the most critical ecosystem, and anchors of cultural heritage. Yet they remain some of the most underinvested and overlooked. As the world confronts the polycrises of climate change, poverty, and food insecurity, there is growing recognition that rural transformation is not optional. It is an essential part of building lasting resilience for any nation and it must begin with meaningful investment, not just acknowledgement.”

He said that to enhance the Momogun youths’ international exposure and economic participation, MNC is working to enhance the teaching of the English language being carried out by Institute for Indigenous Economic Progress (INDEP), under its “Be an English Speaker Today” (BEST) program.

“English is the crucial language to enable Momoguns to gain high paying employment and to participate effectively in global affairs,” he pointed out.

At the installation ceremony, official appointment certificates were given to 29 Supreme Council members.

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