Kota Kinabalu - Sabah is still lacking books that provide an insight into the pre-independence period as well as on the contributions of people towards achieving the country‘s independence.
Historian, Prof. Dr Danny Wong, said it was important to understand and give due appreciation to the contributions of those that led to the formation of Malaysia regardless of who they were.
"We are still in dire need of literature and for starters we need more memoirs and biographies of those who have helped us achieve independence," he said at the launch of the book entitled "The White Headhunter of Borneo" a book by Stephen Holley at Shangri-La‘s Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa, Monday.
Wong and Daily Express Chief Editor, James Sarda, were credited with playing significant roles in the book penned by Stephen Holley himself and published by Natural History Publications (Borneo).
Launched by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, the book was a memoir of Holley‘s life in North Borneo (Sabah) from 1946 to 1964, including his experience in the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.
He was one of the signatories to the 1963 Malaysia Agreement and later became the first Sabah State Secretary for about a year.
According to Wong, the 18-year period between 1946 and 1963 is divided into two halves i.e. 1946 to 1956, which was to put North Borneo back on its feet after World War Two and from 1956 to 1963 when the State started to make headway in terms of development.
Importantly, he said the book demonstrated Holley‘s sincerity to help uplift the general living of the people in Sabah by gaining independence through the Federation of Malaysia.
"Of course it can be argued that as a colonial officer he (Holley) was merely doing his job," he said, adding that it was also noted that many colonial officers at that time had refused to follow orders to the extent of some even trying to influence locals to reject the Malaysia Agreement.
Meanwhile, Sarda said not many Sabahans, let alone Malaysians, today know of the contributions made by people like Holley that made Malaysia possible.
"For it was he, as the Secretary of the Inter-Governmental Committee or IGC, that worked against the odds to ensure that Malaysia will become a reality.
"As a Chief Editor, I admit being one of them who was ignorant. But I‘m glad that being a journalist provided me the opportunity to stumble upon this man and learn of his role in Malaysia‘s formation," he said.
According to him, he came to know Holley back in 2001 when he was tipped off about an impending down-memory-lane visit of an once-important colonial official called Holley.
"Having no clue of who he was, I asked some people I know like ex-CM Tan Sri Peter Lo, ex-State Sec Tan Sri Richard Lind and our columnist Datuk Fauzi Patel, among others. I‘m glad I did," he said.
According to Sarda, Holley admitted that he thought many times about writing a memoir but did not think what he had to share would be interesting to the future generations of Sabahans.
"I told him how wrong he was," he said, adding that Holley had so many interesting things to share about the period that it would have been an injustice to cram them into just a series in a newspaper.
Sarda said at his age of 80, Holley even took the trouble to enrol in an adult computer literacy course that helped address the distance problem between them, particularly in emailing the chapters he had written to Kota Kinabalu.
"Initially he sent me the first few chapters by mail and I told him I wished it would be via email so that the book could be out quicker. However, he was 80 and had never used a computer. I was surprised months later to start receiving his chapters via email," he said, adding that he was surprised to learn that Holley had taken up his advice and learnt how to use the computer.
In the meantime, Sarda said he spoke to Datuk CL Chan about the possibility of publishing this book while Universiti Malaya Associate Prof, Dr Danny Wong, helped to ascertain the accuracy of names and dates.
He said the book was ready by 2004 but attempts to officially launch it in Sabah faced problems because Holley‘s wife, Dinah, who had also served in Sabah, was experiencing ill health.
Sadly, he said he learnt in 2006 from his son that Holley succumbed to post operation complications.
"His son had hoped that even though Holley never made it for an official launch, the book would still be launched officially in Sabah in his memory and today‘s event is in fulfilment of this wish," he said.
Holley was someone who believed that the formation of Malaysia was in the best interest of the people in the various territories involved at the time, i.e. Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo.
"In his book Holley said his belief in Malaysia was such that in time to come a child from Sabah and Sarawak may even become the Prime Minister of this country," he said, noting that history has a knack of proving many things possible.
"It is said that journalists write the first draft of history. As a journalist, I am proud to be associated with this book and with someone whose signature is on the Malaysia Agreement, the very document that formed this great nation."
BOTH Universiti Malaya Historian Dr Danny Wong and Daily Express Chief Editor James Sarda suggested that certain individuals who have made tangible, lasting and positive contributions to the State during the colonial era be accorded better recognition than just be footnotes in history.
Citing Holley‘s contribution towards making Malaysia possible as a strong case in point, James said he only knew about about Holley‘s important place in modern Malaysian history only because of a down-memory-lane visit by Holley when the latter was 80.
"For that matter I doubt many Malaysians know who the various signatories of the Malaysia Agreement were and the parties they represented," he said.
In this context, James said it would help if there were living reminders such as new streets, appropriate buildings or halls named after these individuals, adding that this would also be in line with the Prime Minister‘s call on the importance of knowing the nation‘s history.
"We cannot talk about Sabah‘s own history without mentioning the contributions made by these people. They have become part of our rich multi-cultural heritage," he said.
Towards this end, James suggested that the well-respected Sabah Society would be in the best position to come up with a list of who these deserving individuals should be.
Besides, James felt the move would also be good from the tourism point of view because nothing would please tourists better than to know that people from their lands have played a part in the State‘s development. He cited, among others:
@ Owen Rutter who had written many important books on 1900s Sabah which are today considered classics and compulsory research material;
@ Wooley who painstakingly compiled the various Adats (customs) of the indigenous people as well documented their lives in memorable photographs. "Unlike Sarawak‘s indigenous groups who only enjoy collective Native Customary Land, many Sabahans today enjoy Native Titled lands without knowing that it is due to this man‘s vision for the natives."
@ Harry Keith, the Conservator of the Forests who was responsible for starting the process of large-scale conservation of Sabah‘s forests.
"However, it is his wife, Agnes, who became more famous due to her classic work, Land Below The Wind."
"Then there is American Five Star General Douglas McCarthur who called at Labuan prior to the liberation of the Philippines. Sadly hardly anyone knows about his link to the island because of the lack of such living reminders," James said.
Historian Dr Danny Wong said the people of Sabah had, in fact, taken the lead in this regard with the Sabah State Library producing a book on all the Governors of Sabah in 2006, which also acknowledged Governors from the colonial era.
The Sabah State Museum‘s restoration of the Agnes Keith House that is now a tourism draw in Sandakan is another.
"It is important for us as a people who understand our past and our heritage to appreciate the contributions made by those before us, regardless of their backgrounds," he said, adding credit should be given where it is due.
Source: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my (October 28, 2008)
