The Donggongon roundabout sigah controversy: which way should it be facing?
May 18th, 2008UPDATE 29th May 2008: A little bird informed that the sigah cost RM400,000.
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This is generating some controversy.
In Daily Express’ forum on the 18th May 2008, Sylvester Disimon, Chairman of the Penampang Branch of Kadazan Society Sabah (KSS) wrote in essence:
Since the Sigah is such an important traditional headgear, with which the Kadazandusun community is identified, not just in Penampang but throughout Sabah, the Sigah monument should not have been located at the roundabout in the first place.
However, he wrote that since construction has started, go ahead, but there’s some issue with the direction it’s facing. It should serve its purpose i.e. welcome visitors driving towards the direction of Donggongon from the Penampang bypass.
As of now, it is facing the opposite direction.
This is what one would see when approaching the roundabout while driving towards the direction of Donggongon on the Penampang bypass:
For those who are not familiar with the area, here’s an image from Google Earth which shows the position of the roundabout relative to surrounding areas:
He further wrote that the Penampang District Council, who is also Penampang District Officer, said that the Council decided that the Sigah should face the rising sun i.e. the East. At the same time, it is also appropriately facing Mount Kinabalu.
Disimon wrote that both reasons are unacceptable, because the former is talking about Feng Shui, and due to most Penampangites being Christians, this should not be taken into consideration. As for the latter, it’s like leading people to their “final resting place on the mountain”.
Disimon wrote that he had contacted Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, the Member of Parliament for Penampang on the matter, who basically said he didn’t have “strong views on the matter” and that “either way is ok.”
What do you think? Which way should it be facing?
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Pendapat peribadi saya, ia sepatutnya ‘facing’ arah Donggongon kerana ia kelihatan cantik apabila dilihat dari tepi dari KK / KKIA. Para pelancong ‘kemungkinan’ besar melalui laluan ini dari KKIA utk ke Tbn, Kgu, Tenom dll.
shld be facing in the middle between jln penampang baru and the new by-pass. i just saw this yest actually (a few months didnt go to dongs).
Will check this out when I go back kk next monday
Hmm, I think it should be taken into considerations the community living there on the ways the structure to be built..
And oh ya, nowadays Feng Shui is famous even in the western world.. Even though westerners are Christians thought..
i think the right location should be ??? i dont know and i dont care!!!!!!!!!!!
Cool down man, jangan marah marah bah..
Judging from the time of your comment, I think it’s a bit too early to….
Bebek, then dont comment la.
my point of view! is that it shouldnt be there at the 1st place! its look ugly! and waste of money! its look like a piece of junks! its blocking driver view. why dont spend on other project! like the road conditions! its terrible la! why dont just donate to social interest.. some1 who really need it! stupid la! siapa undi BN bodoh!
what Dompok tahu! he doesnt even care about this! his just a puppet at cyberjaya to shut his mouth! makan duit ba itu setan itu! nama aje kadazandusun but useless.. ofcos la he dont have strong view.. what matter does he take! what measure that he make! his not from penampang!
well, I don’t want to politicise this issue, anyway. In my 2 sen opinion, as long as somethings are done to beautify Dong’s, then it should be allright, whatever direction the “beautification thingie” is heading…
This reflected poorly on Pejabat Daerah Penampang councilors for not doing a proper feasibility study on an appropriate location or at least asked for inputs from the Penampang populace!
I remembered seeing a similar huge Sigah built at Kg Tuavon years ago (wonder it is still standing there?) and its orientation was fengshui-free influence and the ‘head’ welcomes visitors/people/motorists coming from the direction of the main road!
Yes, I think the Japanese way of “bottom up management” should be implemented here i.e. ask for people’s comment first. Then the majority decision prevails. And perhaps a council of elders’ opinion should bear greater weight. It might take longer to arrive at a decision, but in the end, it would be acceptable to most people.
Good point about the the Sigah-shaped hall at Kg Tuavon. I think it’s still there.
i think this was done hastily, prob the feds gave $ to dompok just to give the impression that fast development was coming to PPG after BN won the election.. ceh buat apa gitu kalau masuk kampung masi lagi ada yg ndada elektrik.
If me I think the sigar should not be there in the first place at all… why? because it BLOCKS the view of traffic/cars at the roundabout.
How did they come about building it anyway? Cadangan dari orang ramai kah tu?
Apparently it, and the pineapples at another roundabout nearby was built as part of the beautification of the area.
Mr Sokial devoted a whole article on this matter yesterday in DE.
If the District Council did ask for people’s opinion, I didn’t see it.
is this the best our penampang sculptors/designers can do? a sigah and a pineapple?
how about depicting images from our rich kadazan folklore? too hard? easier to just build something so sacred but bigger, and make it look like a stiff napkin sitting on pencil erasers?
there’s already this headgear idea done in a roundabout in papar. there’s also a house built in a shape of a sigah in penampang.
those involved in this project gives me the impression that there’s no heart put into this project. only the profit margin.
The sigar should face to Kiblat…
Thats suggestion should come from Tuan Fuad Stephen… hehe…
Tu lah tu. Adoi, sdh la half million tuu.. mcm teda proper planning n consideration ni. Besar betul tu sigar di tengah2 roundabout. Very opposite to the one d bulatan yue min penampang. With 4 pieces of ’sad pineapples’ di tengah2.
And I’m sooo heran why no one bother to fix one of the pineapples which was ‘unrooted’ from the earth. If the sigar can cost half million, then why can’t THEY do something about the sad pineapples??
Early this morning when I looked, the pineapple problem seem to have been fixed.
Good job if they really fixed that. I haven’t passed the road since last sat, and when i looked, that one pineapple’s still in in a miserable state.
Anyway, i still think how funny was that. hehe