PENAMPANG – There will be no further native court suits filed against controversial lawyer Marcel Jude Joseph, who had riled indigenous groups by calling a women’s cultural pageant a “cattle show”.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan today said there cannot be overlapping suits as the issue has already been resolved.
“The matter has already been endorsed, recorded and resolved in the native courts,” the Keningau MP said.
“There will be no further action taken against Jude,” said Jeffrey during a mediation over the controversy at the Penampang native court near here.
Jude drew widespread anger among indigenous groups in Sabah after describing the annual Unduk Ngadau as akin to a “cattle show”.
He noted that Jude had agreed to settle his “sogit” (compensation) of seven buffaloes, one for every indigenous group that had filed the summons against him, including the Kadazan and Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA).
Jeffrey, who is also KDCA deputy president, said the suits filed by other groups, including the United Sabah Dusun Association (Usda) led by Datuk Ewon Ebin and 20 others, are now irrelevant.
“Action can only be taken once,” said Jeffrey, adding that he hopes no further parties will complicate the matter.
The issue began when Sabah politician Phillip Among was accused in June of using criminal force in outraging the modesty of two women on several occasions throughout the recent Unduk Ngadau harvest festival beauty pageant.
A court submission for Among, which included a reference to the Unduk Ngadau pageant as somewhat of an “exotic cattle show” and “auction”, then went viral in Sabah. – The Vibes, August 30, 2021
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