KOTA KINABALU: Former deputy speaker of Sabah State Legislative Assembly, Datuk Lawrence Gimbang has been elected as the first Sabah Dusunic Language Preservation Association (KBDS) president.
Gimbang was elected unopposed at the association’s Annual General Assembly (AGM) held at Dewan Nuluhon Garden Retreat House in Inanam today.
Former Sepanggar MP Datuk Eric Majimbun was also elected unopposed as the deputy president while Petrus Guriting was selected to take charge of the secretary general post.
The position of treasurer was held by Lothar Michael while Damian Marcus Podtung was elected as the assistant secretary.
The four elected Committee Members are Dato Webley Disim, Alex Kando, Soguli Olid and Sitiamah Sahat.
All of them were elected unopposed.
Meanwhile, Gimbang said, the association, among others, aimed to encourage the Kadazan-dusun community to speak the Dusun language according to their respective dialects to ensure it will not go extinct.
According to him, the formation of KBDS is important since there is a study that predicts the Dusun language is likely to disappear within 30 years if there is no serious effort to encourage the use of the language.
“Cognisant of the need to preserve dusunic language, we came up with the idea to form the Sabah Dusunic Language Preservation Association.
“We are proud of our own language, and that’s why we want to encourage the people of Kadazan-dusun to continue to preserve, learn and speak the Dusunik language,” he said in his speech during the KBDS’ Annual General Assembly.
Touching on future plans, Gimbang said KBDS planned to set up a Dusun Museum in Tuaran, Kota Marudu, Ranau and Tambunan.
He said the association also suggested the Sabah government to establish a Sabah Indigenous Language Preservation Unit under the supervision of the Chief Minister’s Department by the Organisation’s Parent Committee.
