KOTA KINABALU: The participation and crowning of the second place winner of the state-level Unduk Ngadau contest, Kota Marudu contestant Scarlett Megan Liew Zi Ling, during the Kaamatan Festival on May 31 has been the subject of debate.
State-level Unduk Ngadau organising chairperson Joanna Kitingan yesterday clarified that some people have expressed their dissatisfaction merely because Megan has a Chinese name.
“They raise the question because they say she is not pure Dusun. However, how would you define the term ‘pure Dusun or pure Kadazan’? Is it by the percentage of Dusun blood or Kadazan blood flowing in your veins? How can you check that?” she asked.
Joanna said the organising committee accepted contestants that were not pure Kadazans and pure Dusuns as long as they were descendants of the community.
“We accept half ‘orang putih’ (Caucasians), half Indians and so on…what we aim for is to encourage them to learn more about part of their culture and learn about the mother tongue of their ancestors,” she said.
Joanna said Megan fulfilled the requirements to take part in the competition and she was selected as the district winner before competing in the main competition.
“The selection committee at the district level knows the criteria for each of the contestants registered, and she was allowed to join at the district level, which essentially meant that she fulfilled the criteria for the state-level Unduk Ngadau competition,” she said.
Joanna said she personally went to visit Megan’s grandmother to address all the queries raised and to ensure Megan meet the requirements to compete in the state-level Unduk Ngadau competition.
She explained that Megan was raised by her grandparents and that her grandmother had vouched that she is of Dusun descent.
“She has her grandmother vouching for her. I have personally met her grandmother, so how can you say that she is not who she say she is.
“She has every right to join. And how can you say that only pure Dusuns can join? For all you know, you may have great grandparents who were Chinese,” she said.
