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Borneo Post
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Borneo Post
Borneo.TV faces more backlash from Sabah artists
Atama KOTA KINABALU (July 4): The launch of on July 1 by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor at Menara Kinabalu, has deeply disappointed Borneo's indigenous communities and cultural workers, including the Sabah Film and Visual Association (SAFVA). 'For years, the state has neglected the cultural rights of indigenous artists, singers, and songwriters, leaving their creative economies and heritage unsupported. This secretive agreement between the SMJ Secretariat and Kuala Lumpur-based IB Media Consultant Sdn Bhd is seen as another betrayal of Sabah and Borneo's cultural intellectual property and creative integrity. They didn't care then, and they don't care now,' said Atama Katama, Sabah's renowned Sumazau Hip-Hop artist and the world's first KadazanDusun-English rapper. The issue surfaced when the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Secretariat and IB Media Consultant Sdn Bhd signed a deal and hurriedly launched Sabah's television channel, This move violates UNESCO's 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which mandates safeguarding cultural diversity, and it disregards the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) under Article 32 of the UNDRIP (2007). 'I fully endorse Sabah Film and Visual Association's (SAFVA) opposition to the lack of consultation, and we, as Borneans, especially cultural workers, must resist this erosion of our identity to end all forms of cultural exploitation. 'I know SAFVA is correct to oppose this,' said Atama, the 2011 Choons Malaysia Best MC. Atama, now a senior Indigenous Peoples Rights Representative at the United Nations, claims that the use of 'Borneo' in a platform owned by Dato' Hajji Izlan Basar, CEO of Al Hijrah, raises serious concerns about cultural appropriation. Another Sabah-born national artist, Yee I-Lan, warned on her Facebook on Thursday: ' owned by a non-Bornean Malayan religious content figure with limited media experience, smacks of neo-colonialism. Adat and budaya under MA63 are state matters.' The absence of indigenous consultation further breaches UNESCO's inclusive representation principles. Similarly, the Borneo Native Festival (BNF), held annually 2,000 miles from Borneo, misrepresents the island's culture. Sarawak's Peter John Jaban, founder of GOASS cultural creative, said, 'Millions of ringgit in MOTAC (Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture) funds support the Borneo Native Festival in Kuala Lumpur, implying East Malaysians lack the capacity to organize it locally.' He cited SUKASENI, a KL-based organizer that gained 'popularity' after showcasing Borneo's authentic traditional garments. The Edge of the World actor continued, 'We came to boost BNF with our Borneo spirit, with GOASS boarding AirAsia flights in our 'sirat' traditional garments. These self-funded travels to Kuala Lumpur received minimal support, just a bus ride from airport to hotel. This reflects tokenism that undermines local expertise and romanticizes Borneo's nativity in KL.' In subsequent years, BNF held a pop-up event in Sabah but failed to acknowledge GOASS, Jaban noted. 'They didn't even contact us when they came to our own land. Instead, they had foreigners dressed as us to represent us. With experiences like this, how can we trust those who fail to appreciate us?' The CEO's dual role as owner of and Al Hijrah raises concerns about the marginalization of non-Muslim narratives across Borneo. The SMJ Secretariat's public claim that operates without state funding heightens suspicions of double standards and lack of oversight, as it pre-relinquishes responsibility for protecting Sabah's cultural assets and forms, which will be controlled and peddled by and its clientele. 'This thoughtlessness reflects incompetent state advisors and rent-seeking executives, making the Sabah Chief Minister, a former radio announcer, look utterly compromised. 'Our cultural heritage, arts, traditions and indigenous identities is sacred and must not be exploited, particularly for religious purposes. This breach of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which ensures cultural autonomy, demands urgent action,' Atama stated. Atama calls for: 1. Immediate intervention by the Sabah State Ministry to uphold cultural rights; 2. Full FPIC and consultation with indigenous creative artisans, alongside meaningful dialogue with local creatives; 3. The SMJ Secretariat to publish its policy on cultural appropriation and restrict the company from misusing the term 'Borneo.'
Focus Malaysia
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Focus Malaysia
Sabahan UN rep slams CM Hajiji govt over ‘Borneo.TV' launch, calls it cultural 'betrayal'
'THE Sabah state government's hasty launch of has come under fire from local indigenous cultural leaders with a United Nations (UN) representative accusing Chief Minister (CM) Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor's administration of sidelining native voices and undermining Borneo's cultural sovereignty. Launched on July 1 at Menara Kinabalu and developed by Kuala Lumpur-based IB Media Consultant Sdn Bhd, the television channel was allegedly rolled out without any consultation with Sabah's indigenous artists and cultural stakeholders. 'For years, the state has neglected the cultural rights of indigenous artists, singers and songwriters, leaving their creative economies and heritage unsupported,' fumed UN permanent representative for the Dayak International Organisation Datuk Petinggi Andrew Ambrose Atama Katama. 'I fully endorse SAFVA's (Sabah Film and Visual Association) opposition to the lack of consultation … As cultural conscious Borneans, we must resist this erosion of our identity by ending all forms of cultural exploitation.' A pioneering KadazanDusun-English hip-hop artist, Atama Katama further claimed that the deal between the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) Secretariat and IB Media violated both international norms and indigenous rights, including the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) principle under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He also expressed concern over the use of the name 'Borneo' in a platform owned by TV Al Hijrah president/CEO Datuk Izelan Basar by stating that it 'raises serious concerns about cultural appropriation'. MACC's intervention sought Prominent Sabahan artist Yee I-Lan echoed the sentiment by warning in a Facebook post that ' owned by a non-Bornean Malayan religious content figure with limited media experience, smacks of neo-colonialism'. Criticism was also extended to the annual Borneo Native Festival (BNF), held in Kuala Lumpur. Sarawakian activist Peter John Jaban claimed that the festival romanticised Bornean identity for a Peninsular audience while offering little support or recognition to local experts like his GOASS cultural group. While the SMJ Secretariat has claimed that was privately funded, this has done little to dispel concerns. Atama Katama argued that the station absolved the state of responsibility and only handed Sabah's cultural narrative to 'rent-seeking executives' while making the Sabah CM who was a former radio announcer 'utterly compromised'. On this note, Atama Katama called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the 'opaque' agreement behind He also insisted that the Sabah State Ministry immediately uphold the cultural rights of indigenous communities while urging full FPIC and meaningful engagement with local creative artisans. Above all else, Atama Katama further demanded that the SMJ Secretariat publish a clear policy on cultural appropriation and take steps to prevent misuse of the term 'Borneo' by private entities. 'Our cultural heritage is sacred and must not be exploited, particularly for religious purposes,' he added. – July 4, 2-2025 Main image credit: Hajiji Hajo Noor/Facebook
