Darell Leiking wears traditional Kadazandusun headgear when sworn in as MITI Minister (updated)

PETALING JAYA: Darell Leiking stood out for his distinctive Kadazandusun headgear during his swearing in as Minister of International Trade and Industry at Istana Negara on Monday (July 2).

Instead of wearing a songkok, he wore a siga, a traditional "headcover of handwoven cloth (kain dastar), folded or twisted in a number of distinctive ways", as described in Sabah's KadazanDusun Cultural Association (KDCA) website.

Leiking is the Member of Parliament of Penampang (a town near Kota Kinabalu), which is considered the hub of KadazanDusun culture. It is here that the state's biggest Kaamatan Harvest Festival celebrations are held.

Leiking is the deputy president of Parti Warisan Sabah and has been vocal on pushing for Sabah's state rights, as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement of 1963. He won his seat in the 2018 elections by defeating his cousin Ceasar Mandela Malakun of Upko. 

According to the KDCA website, there are several types of siga, depending on the way the cloth is folded.

For instance, there is the siga hinopung because it looks like a curled python (hopung in the Kadazandusun language).

There is also the twisted model called siga kinahu’ (after kahu’ or "potholder") and the folded model called siga sinimbitan or tinahanuk, where only one small corner of cloth sticks out.