Reform Unduk Ngadau For Sabah Indigenous Culture Survival

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Sabah has made it to national news headlines and this time, it was not about any elections but about a sexual harassment case connected to the most celebrated symbolic event in Sabah. 
The Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan (UNK) beauty pageant shot to national fame for the wrong reason, unfortunately.

In Sabah’s context, the UNK pageant is unlike any other beauty pageants. It was based on the origin of the Kadazans, Dusuns, Muruts, and Rungus’ (KDMR) history to memorialise the spirit of Huminodun – a brave and selfless sacrifice of Ponompuan, an indigenous maiden, for the greater good of her people ensuring bountiful harvest for times to come.
Starting in the 1940s, Unduk Ngadau has been a tradition to promote the indigenous people’s culture in conjunction with the Kaamatan harvest festival throughout May – making it the biggest cultural platform in the state. Prolific business moguls and ministers clash for publicity priority, it is like the "Hunger Games" to have a seat at this prestigious entity.
Therefore, it has never lacked support from sponsors and the state government for many decades now. Due to that, it became interrupted with commercial arrangements rather than staying true to the essence of Huminodun which is about her courage and sacrifice for a cause beyond herself.
Initially, the UNK pageant's organising committee meant for it to be about empowering young KDMR women to delve deep into their culture and traditions and improve their knowledge about tribal histories and their heritage.
However, there is a catch – before any young native woman gets to do that, first, she must be pretty, speak fluently in her own native tongue, meet the weight requirement, and be aged between 18 and 27. The pageantry criteria are questionable when there was no mention of Ponompuan as such in the origin story.
Is UNK only meant to empower women who meet those criteria? The spirit of Huminodun was never about appearances but about the beauty of a selfless act. So, why don’t we improve on the idea of Unduk Ngadau and reform it into a more inclusive cultural movement? Wouldn’t that be fundamentally meaningful for all, to the extent that other local ethnicities and communities can interact and relate with the KDMR culture?
In that sense, this has ignited a new hot-take discussion hosted by the Society of Equality, Respect and Trust for All Sabah (Serata) between some local activists and youth leaders. The important pointer raised by Vila Somiah, a senior lecturer on Gender Studies, during the panel was the potential of Unduk Ngadau.
It could branch into many different workshops and programmes as a piece of heritage machinery and knowledge bank, both driving and preserving the cultural experience, learning of different languages, and forming strategic partnerships to further complement these efforts.
Also, the unduk (the contestants) should play a more sustainable and empowering role as leaders to lead and materialise this new ambition.




Empowering the unduk beyond the pageantry will shift the focus to exporting our KDMR culture and cementing the significance of representation. That also highlights the present headspace of achieving an interethnic solution instead of existing ethnicities working in silos.

Women are objectified
Selective beauty in a form of pageantry is no stranger to critics and commentaries, similarly for the case of UNK when local advocates have been calling for a change. Regrettably, their advice always fell on deaf ears because the organisation can't see that sustainable reform does not mean moving away from commercial value.
If you are familiar with the advertising term, “sex sells”, which is using sex appeal to increase sales, the UNK pageantry is the perfect local version of it as the involved parties never budged from milking it like a cash cow. To keep the money flowing in, women are objectified.
Pretty, young, native women are sexualised according to Western beauty standards and being paraded as beauty icons ready to be a pin-up for anyone’s viewing pleasure. The gimmick works wonders as men, women, youngsters, and children alike, flood to town halls every year to enjoy the festivities and to witness this extravagance live. Now that it has been digitalised, the appeal remains the same.
Many Sabahans were not surprised when they heard about the sexual harassment case coming from the UNK pageantry. It has been a perennial invisible issue for decades and it is like an open secret. Just like the term membawang, news as such is shared for light conversations and rarely for solution-seeking discussion.
Systemic sexism and internalised misogyny are a lived reality and until the Sexual Harassment Bill is tabled and enforced, sexual assault cases will still proliferate throughout the country.
A recent case reported was a police officer from Kota Bharu remanded for allegations of raping a woman detainee. Another reported case involved a police report lodged against the Gombak Setia assemblyperson.
In a better-known example, dirty sex jokes and remarks by a teacher were happening in a secondary school, but after it was reported to the faculty, it was not taken seriously as a verbalised sexual assault. It was only made known after Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam dared to challenge the status quo and spoke out.
Rape culture stems from the lack of realisation that sexual harassment is not a women-issue but a serious issue, and why it is important for men to be equally involved for prevention and protection.
Until the government understands and sees sexual harassment as a pandemic, the effort of trying to sweep this crisis under the carpet is the same as prolonging the stain on their reputation. And this is the reason why the UNK organising committee must learn from this experience and work with civil society organisations in the state.
To the rest of the country, we need to continue to demand the Sexual Harassment Bill to be tabled so that it will give survivors the justice they deserve.
Please write to your MPs about passing the bill. We all know it will take some time while it is still darurat, but the people’s pressure on government matters and it works. Be an ally. - Mkini

NICOLE WEE is a millennial Sabahan with a sassy view of life and wants rakyat empowerment through MA63 for Borneans.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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