Born on 11 October 1939 as the third child but second son out of five siblings in Kampung Hungab, Donggongon, Penampang (for he had an elder brother named George, seven years his senior, born 1932 and died in 1983, then followed by an elder sister, Catherine, two years his senior, born in 1937, but died somewhere in the 1980s-1990s, in which then he was followed by another sister, Maria, born when he was six years of age in 1945 during the war and finally a younger brother, Conrad was born when he was nine years old in 1948, who died in 2020/21), his father, Paul Mojuntin Matanul (19071971), was an ethnic
Kadazan whilst his mother was a mixed-blood
Hakka Chinese woman of
Sino-Native descent, Magdalene Minjaim Lim (19091994). Named at birth as Joinod Mojuntin, he took the name Peter when he converted to
Catholicism from animism at the age of 15 in 1954. After obtaining his education at both
St. Michael's School in
Donggongon,
Penampang (19461954) and the
Sacred Heart Secondary School in
Tanjung Aru,
Jesselton (19551957), he began his professional, working life as a junior untrained teacher in St. Michael's School, Penampang, his
alma mater during primary and middle schooling days. After 2 years, he resigned personally after getting another job offer at the age of 20. He worked at a newspaper known as
The North Borneo News and
Sabah Times (now known today as the
New Sabah Times, but the paper has been closed down since 2020), with
Donald Stephens as the owner and the
editor-in-chief of that publication, working as a columnist and a part-time
journalist under the latter's mentorship, he then later worked as the managing director of Nabahu Corp. Sdn. Bhd., a local co-operative company. On 8 May 1963, which also happened to be the date of that year's
Kaamatan festival, he married Datin Nancy Mary Mobijohn (26 May 194513 October 2023), who was the daughter of a local politician and a former teacher-cum-colleague of his named Datuk Seri Panglima Lidwin Anthony Mobijohn (19212002) and wife, Datin Seri Panglima Nora Joguim Sipanil (19232008), also hailing from the same village and the couple had five children, three boys and two girls, including
Donald Peter Mojuntin (born 26 January 1965) and Deidre Christine Mojuntin (28 December 19731 January 2003), the winner of the
Unduk Ngadau pageant in 1989. In addition, he served as the Chairman of the Penampang District Council for two non-consecutive terms, from 1965 to 1971 and again from 1973 to 1975. Throughout his life, Mojuntin was active in various organisations of the Kadazan. First, he was the president of the youth organisation known as the United Sabah Kadazan Youth Association and then from 1965 to 1973, he was President of the
Kadazan Cultural Association (KCA) and in 1975, he became their patron. ==Political career==