Sarawak Day 2022: Rosli Dhobi’s sacrifice is increasingly being forgotten – Nephew
KUCHING: Rosli Dhobi is no stranger to Sarawak’s history.
In the fight for independence, Rosli determined to stab the second British Governor of Sarawak, Sir Duncan Stewart with a poisoned knife on December 3, 1949.
His struggle against the colonists unfortunately led Rosli to the gallows.
Now after more than seven decades, the family of this independence hero shares their heartfelt expression about the value of Rosli Dhobi’s sacrifice for the present generation.
For his nephew, Musa Ainnie Dhobi, 62, unabashedly expressed his sadness when his uncle’s struggle seems not to be appreciated by today’s Sarawak generation.
”Sometimes people don’t care about the stories of fighters, they don’t even know. In the Peninsula, they raised the story of Mat Kilau’s struggle on the silver screen, but we in Sarawak?
”If they were the ones who fought for Sarawak’s independence, maybe without them we will not achieve the independence we are looking for,” he said.
For that, in conjunction with this year’s Sarawak Day celebration, Musa hopes that the young generation will always make Rosli Dhobi’s struggle an aspiration to maintain the state’s independence.
”The younger generation should appreciate the spirit of this struggle considering that some of them are quite far from the direction.
”So the spirit of love for the country, patriotism is very important embedded as identity. For example, Rosli Dhobi started fighting for independence at the age of 17, still young. Therefore we must absorb into our souls the spirit of this struggle,” he said.
He added that it was not only Rosli Dhobi but many other prominent Sarawak fighters who sacrificed their lives to defend the motherland.
”If followed, there are still many stories of Sarawak’s child fighters that can be told, for example, in Sibu itself.
”For example, the story of the struggle during the communist era involves an Iban fighter, Penghulu Emban.
“Same is the story of Kanang Anak Skipkau, besides that the story of Superintendent Mustapha from the General Operations Team (PGA) who was shot dead during a battle with communists in Durin, Sibu,” he said.
Rosli Dhobi’s remains were buried at Kuching Central Prison before being reburied at the Sarawak Heroes’ Cemetery in Sibu on 2 March 1996 after 46 years.
source – Astro Awani
