Tun Datu Mustapha
Encyclopedia
Tun Datu Haji Mustapha bin Datu Harun or Tun Mustapha for short, was the first governor
of the Malaysian state of Sabah
. He was also the third Chief Minister
of the state from 1967 to 1975, and was the president for the political party United Sabah National Organization
(USNO). He is considered by some to be one of the founding leaders of Sabah
and was an important party in the negotiations leading to the formation of Malaysia
on September 16, 1963.
He also succeeded in converting a significant number of non-Muslim indigenous people in Sabah into Muslim, mainly by sponsoring mass conversion drives, by way of offering certain monetary and other benefits in return. The state government recently renamed the Sabah Foundation Building to Tun Mustapha Tower
, as a token of appreciation for his contributions to the state.
Tun Mustapha is of a Оrang Вajau Bannaran -Kagayan and Orang Suluk/ Tausug origin.
, He is Suluk-Bajau (Bajau Bannaran /Bajau Kudat and not Bajau Ubian). During World War II, he was wanted by the Japanese forces because of the rebellions he led against them, mainly in Kudat. But when they could not find him, they caught his younger brother and eventually killed him because his brother would not reveal where he was hiding.
He is known to some as the "father of Sabah's independence" and also the "father of Sabah's development". However, he is also considered by many Sabahan opposition leaders who later formed the new party BERJAYA as a dictator who misappropriated huge sums of money from the state's coffers (primarily through timber concessions) to support his lavish lifestyle. He had two private customised Boeing 707
jet aircraft (which was technically owned by Sabah Air
) and he owned mansions in England
and Australia.
Mustapha founded the party United Sabah National Organization
, better known by the acronym USNO. He, together with Donald Stephens
, are often credited as important figures in Sabah in bringing forth Sabah's independence and in the formation of Malaysia in 1963. When Malaysia was formed on September 16, 1963, he became the first Yang di-Pertua Negeri
(governor) of Sabah. In the 1967 state election, USNO won, and Mustapha became the third Chief Minister of Sabah.
When he was Chief Minister, his relationship with the Malaysian central government was not very good. Although the central government, represented by the Barisan Nasional
(BN) coalition, was a partner of USNO, they were worried about certain stances taken by Mustapha, in particular, his intention or threat to secede Sabah from Malaysia. Mustapha also refused to sign an oil agreement with the federal government which stated that only 5% of Sabah's oil revenue will be given to the state. Mustapha demanded at least 30%.
Following from this, in 1975 USNO secretary-general Harris Salleh
left the party to form BERJAYA
. This party was backed up by the federal government. In the 1976 state election, BERJAYA won and Mustapha was ousted from power.
Mustapha remained active in politics, leading USNO and contesting in four subsequent state elections (1981, 1985, 1986, and 1990). Although they never won again, they still managed to win several seats in the state assembly. They also remained a partner of BN at the federal government level (as opposed to the state level). After the 1990 state election, he teamed up with Harris Salleh again, after BERJAYA themselves were ousted by Parti Bersatu Sabah
. This resulted in a merger of USNO and BERJAYA to create the Sabah chapter of the peninsular-based United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO). Mustapha became its first chief of UMNO Sabah.
Aside from his involvement in politics and religion (Islam), he also made contributions in the education of Sabah. He mooted the idea of forming Sabah Foundation (Yayasan Sabah) and was responsible in setting up the first university, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Sabah Campus, and also the setting up of ITM (Institut Teknologi Mara).
He was also the Deputy Head of PERKIM, when the late Tunku was the President and also the time of Datuk Patinggi Taib. He was also the head of United Sabah Islamic Association (USIA) and a member of RISEAP.
Tun Mustapha is remembered by the Christians of Sabah for having violated human rights by denying foreign priests who have not obtained permanent residency their extension of their visas. All the priests who object to their expulsion for doing religions works amongst the Christians were arrested by using his powers as the Chairman of the State Security Operation Committee and CM of Sabah State Government.
Mustapha did this because he accused the priests of involvement in politics. From their pulpits in the churches during the sermons they used to tell the laity not to vote for Mustapha's party in the coming elections but to vote for other parties like Berjaya and PBS. No doubt Mustapha had his police informers sitting in the pews during the church services monitoring events. And any decent honest churchgoer who was in the pews, Christian or non-Christian alike can vouch that the priests indeed did this. So the church was not blameless to stirring up the resulting controversy. Furthermore the Bishop of Sabah at the time, Peter Chung did nothing to draw his priests into line, fruther souring his relations with Tun Mustapha.
Under his orders, on 2 December 1972, the police decided to make a raid at the missions at Tambunan, Papar, Bundu Tuhan and Kuala Penyu. The raids at Tambunan and Papar were successful, timed early in the morning with the church bell ropes cut to prevent it to be used to warned the people around. The priest were gaoled at Kapayan long before the parishioners were aware of it.
The raid at Kuala Penyu was initially a fiasco with a reception committee of 6 hundred. But by 11 am reiforcement were flown in. It took tear gas, field force, mobile force, riot squad, fifteen landrovers, 2 trucks and a helicopter to arrest one unarmed priest.
On 15 December more priest were arrested at Keningau, Tenom and Limbahau.
The rest of the priest who only have temporary residence permits, on hearing this has no choice but to say goodbye to their parishioners and went home or given new assignments to nearby countries. There are still plenty of young Christians, now in their middle and golden years who still remember vividly as they tearfully said goodbye to their teachers cum priests cum social workers who had no choice but to leave the state.
As reported in local news such as Daily Express (2nd page, 11 Nov 2009), the Malaysian home ministry informed in parliament that a biography of Tun Mustapha's political opponent who died in the double tenth plane crash, Datuk Peter Mojuntin, is banned. The reason was that the book "allegedly" recorded that Datuk Peter exposed Tun Mustapha's attempt to destroy Christianity in Sabah by deporting and arresting foreign missionary priest who were serving their local parishes in the State.
Datuk Peter's house was also surrounded by the police after all the priest were arrested because only he dared to voice out his opposition to the prosecution of the priest. He was not arrested because of his strong political support from the Kadazan people of Penampang.
which was formerly used as a fortress by the late Paduka Mat Salleh and the State Government has named the cemetery as "Taman Memorial Tun Datu Haji Mustapha". His memorial is not in Tambunan. The Tun Datu Mustapha Memorial
in Tambunan
is meant for the distant uncle, Paduka Mat Salleh.
During the 8th Convocation Ceremony of UMS (Universiti Malaysia Sabah) held on the 2–3 September 2006, he was conferred the Honorary Degree-Doctor of Philosophy (Social Development)
In December 2007, his 21 year old grandson, Datu Azlan Amir Kahar died of a heart attack. However, prior to his death he had a fight with his fiance Rosinah Chai, in which he sustained multiple injuries to his body. There was some speculations that Chai was responsible for Azlan's death, but post mortem results indicated that injuries inflicted upon Azlan did not cause his death.
Yang di-Pertua Negeri
The Yang di-Pertua Negeri is the official title of the ceremonial heads of state of the Malaysian states without hereditary rulers, namely Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak...
of the Malaysian state of Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
. He was also the third Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
of the state from 1967 to 1975, and was the president for the political party United Sabah National Organization
United Sabah National Organization
United Sabah National Organization was a political party based in Sabah, Malaysia. The party was founded by Tun Mustapha, the third Chief Minister of Sabah. The party came into power after winning the 1967 state election...
(USNO). He is considered by some to be one of the founding leaders of Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
and was an important party in the negotiations leading to the formation of Malaysia
Malaysia Day
Malaysia Day is held on September 16 every year to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on the same date in 1963. It marked the joining together of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia...
on September 16, 1963.
He also succeeded in converting a significant number of non-Muslim indigenous people in Sabah into Muslim, mainly by sponsoring mass conversion drives, by way of offering certain monetary and other benefits in return. The state government recently renamed the Sabah Foundation Building to Tun Mustapha Tower
Tun Mustapha Tower
The Yayasan Sabah Tower is located in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. It was built in 1977 and it is the second tallest building in the island of Borneo after Wisma Sanyan in Sibu and followed by the Ministry of Finance Building, Brunei in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam...
, as a token of appreciation for his contributions to the state.
Tun Mustapha is of a Оrang Вajau Bannaran -Kagayan and Orang Suluk/ Tausug origin.
Political life
Tun Mustapha was not born in the Philippines as many had suspected. But he is a distant relative of the Sultan of Sulu. He was born in Kampung Limau-limauan, KudatKudat
Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. It serves as the administrative center for the Kudat Division, which includes the towns of Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu, and some offshore islands....
, He is Suluk-Bajau (Bajau Bannaran /Bajau Kudat and not Bajau Ubian). During World War II, he was wanted by the Japanese forces because of the rebellions he led against them, mainly in Kudat. But when they could not find him, they caught his younger brother and eventually killed him because his brother would not reveal where he was hiding.
He is known to some as the "father of Sabah's independence" and also the "father of Sabah's development". However, he is also considered by many Sabahan opposition leaders who later formed the new party BERJAYA as a dictator who misappropriated huge sums of money from the state's coffers (primarily through timber concessions) to support his lavish lifestyle. He had two private customised Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
jet aircraft (which was technically owned by Sabah Air
Sabah Air
Penerbangan Sabah Sdn Bhd, trading as SabahAir , is an airline based in Sabah, Malaysia.- History :...
) and he owned mansions in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Australia.
Mustapha founded the party United Sabah National Organization
United Sabah National Organization
United Sabah National Organization was a political party based in Sabah, Malaysia. The party was founded by Tun Mustapha, the third Chief Minister of Sabah. The party came into power after winning the 1967 state election...
, better known by the acronym USNO. He, together with Donald Stephens
Tun Fuad Stephens
Tun Haji Mohammad Fuad Stephens, previously known as, Donald Stephens, was the first Chief Minister of the state of Sabah in Malaysia. He played a fundamental role in bringing the state of Sabah into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. He held the chief minister post until 1964, and again in 1976...
, are often credited as important figures in Sabah in bringing forth Sabah's independence and in the formation of Malaysia in 1963. When Malaysia was formed on September 16, 1963, he became the first Yang di-Pertua Negeri
Yang di-Pertua Negeri
The Yang di-Pertua Negeri is the official title of the ceremonial heads of state of the Malaysian states without hereditary rulers, namely Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak...
(governor) of Sabah. In the 1967 state election, USNO won, and Mustapha became the third Chief Minister of Sabah.
When he was Chief Minister, his relationship with the Malaysian central government was not very good. Although the central government, represented by the Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
(BN) coalition, was a partner of USNO, they were worried about certain stances taken by Mustapha, in particular, his intention or threat to secede Sabah from Malaysia. Mustapha also refused to sign an oil agreement with the federal government which stated that only 5% of Sabah's oil revenue will be given to the state. Mustapha demanded at least 30%.
Following from this, in 1975 USNO secretary-general Harris Salleh
Harris Salleh
Yang Berhormat Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Harris bin Mohd Salleh, was the 6th Chief Minister of the state of Sabah, in Malaysia. He was also the president for Parti Berjaya. He held the Chief Minister's post from 1976 to 1985...
left the party to form BERJAYA
BERJAYA
BERJAYA was a political party based in the eastern state of Sabah in Malaysia. BERJAYA stands for Parti Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah or Sabah People's United Front. The party was a result of a cooperation between Sabah's first Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens and former United Sabah National...
. This party was backed up by the federal government. In the 1976 state election, BERJAYA won and Mustapha was ousted from power.
Mustapha remained active in politics, leading USNO and contesting in four subsequent state elections (1981, 1985, 1986, and 1990). Although they never won again, they still managed to win several seats in the state assembly. They also remained a partner of BN at the federal government level (as opposed to the state level). After the 1990 state election, he teamed up with Harris Salleh again, after BERJAYA themselves were ousted by Parti Bersatu Sabah
Parti Bersatu Sabah
The Parti Bersatu Sabah is a political party in Sabah, east Malaysia. It was registered as a political party on March 5, 1985...
. This resulted in a merger of USNO and BERJAYA to create the Sabah chapter of the peninsular-based United Malays National Organisation
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....
(UMNO). Mustapha became its first chief of UMNO Sabah.
Aside from his involvement in politics and religion (Islam), he also made contributions in the education of Sabah. He mooted the idea of forming Sabah Foundation (Yayasan Sabah) and was responsible in setting up the first university, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Sabah Campus, and also the setting up of ITM (Institut Teknologi Mara).
He was also the Deputy Head of PERKIM, when the late Tunku was the President and also the time of Datuk Patinggi Taib. He was also the head of United Sabah Islamic Association (USIA) and a member of RISEAP.
Tun Mustapha is remembered by the Christians of Sabah for having violated human rights by denying foreign priests who have not obtained permanent residency their extension of their visas. All the priests who object to their expulsion for doing religions works amongst the Christians were arrested by using his powers as the Chairman of the State Security Operation Committee and CM of Sabah State Government.
Mustapha did this because he accused the priests of involvement in politics. From their pulpits in the churches during the sermons they used to tell the laity not to vote for Mustapha's party in the coming elections but to vote for other parties like Berjaya and PBS. No doubt Mustapha had his police informers sitting in the pews during the church services monitoring events. And any decent honest churchgoer who was in the pews, Christian or non-Christian alike can vouch that the priests indeed did this. So the church was not blameless to stirring up the resulting controversy. Furthermore the Bishop of Sabah at the time, Peter Chung did nothing to draw his priests into line, fruther souring his relations with Tun Mustapha.
Under his orders, on 2 December 1972, the police decided to make a raid at the missions at Tambunan, Papar, Bundu Tuhan and Kuala Penyu. The raids at Tambunan and Papar were successful, timed early in the morning with the church bell ropes cut to prevent it to be used to warned the people around. The priest were gaoled at Kapayan long before the parishioners were aware of it.
The raid at Kuala Penyu was initially a fiasco with a reception committee of 6 hundred. But by 11 am reiforcement were flown in. It took tear gas, field force, mobile force, riot squad, fifteen landrovers, 2 trucks and a helicopter to arrest one unarmed priest.
On 15 December more priest were arrested at Keningau, Tenom and Limbahau.
The rest of the priest who only have temporary residence permits, on hearing this has no choice but to say goodbye to their parishioners and went home or given new assignments to nearby countries. There are still plenty of young Christians, now in their middle and golden years who still remember vividly as they tearfully said goodbye to their teachers cum priests cum social workers who had no choice but to leave the state.
As reported in local news such as Daily Express (2nd page, 11 Nov 2009), the Malaysian home ministry informed in parliament that a biography of Tun Mustapha's political opponent who died in the double tenth plane crash, Datuk Peter Mojuntin, is banned. The reason was that the book "allegedly" recorded that Datuk Peter exposed Tun Mustapha's attempt to destroy Christianity in Sabah by deporting and arresting foreign missionary priest who were serving their local parishes in the State.
Datuk Peter's house was also surrounded by the police after all the priest were arrested because only he dared to voice out his opposition to the prosecution of the priest. He was not arrested because of his strong political support from the Kadazan people of Penampang.
Death and legacy
He died on January 2, 1996 at Sabah Medical Center, Teluk Likas, Kota Kinabalu, at the age of 76. He was buried at the Muslim cemetery in Kampung Ulu/Ulu Seberang PutatanPutatan
Putatan is a town and a suburb of Kota Kinabalu in the state of Sabah, East Malaysia.-Location:The town was located within the district of Penampang on the coast of the West Coast Division but from March 1, 2007, Putatan became a district on its own....
which was formerly used as a fortress by the late Paduka Mat Salleh and the State Government has named the cemetery as "Taman Memorial Tun Datu Haji Mustapha". His memorial is not in Tambunan. The Tun Datu Mustapha Memorial
Tun Datu Mustapha Memorial
Tun Datu Mustapha Memorial is the Sabah's state memorial. The memorial was built near the Mat Salleh's fort in Tambunan, Malaysia. It was erected by Sabah state government on 1999....
in Tambunan
Tambunan
Tambunan is a valley district located in the Interior Division of the state of Sabah. The district covers an area of 1,347 km2.. Its population was estimated to be around 27,852 in 2000, based on the 2000 Population and Housing Census conducted by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia....
is meant for the distant uncle, Paduka Mat Salleh.
During the 8th Convocation Ceremony of UMS (Universiti Malaysia Sabah) held on the 2–3 September 2006, he was conferred the Honorary Degree-Doctor of Philosophy (Social Development)
In December 2007, his 21 year old grandson, Datu Azlan Amir Kahar died of a heart attack. However, prior to his death he had a fight with his fiance Rosinah Chai, in which he sustained multiple injuries to his body. There was some speculations that Chai was responsible for Azlan's death, but post mortem results indicated that injuries inflicted upon Azlan did not cause his death.