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©The Sun (Used by permission)
by Ooi Ying Nee

Sabah chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens with three ministers of his state cabinet. From left, Chong Thain Vun, Harris Salleh, Stephens and Peter Mojuntin at Mojuntin's house. Except for Harris, the rest were killed in a plane crash

Malaysia is more of a cultural mosaic than a melting pot. However, Sabah and Sarawak are perhaps the two states that come closest to a melting pot because of the sheer number of ethnic groups and intermarriages between them.

In Sabah and Sarawak where almost 70 officially recognised ethnic groups have co-existed for centuries Ñ intermarriages and inter-ethnic mingling throughout history have influenced one's ethnic identity which can be the result of a sharing or entwinement of cultures, or the dominance of one culture over another.

People of mixed parentage often find themselves identifying more with one parent, said Grace Balan-Law. Although her father is Kenyah, Balan-Law not only speaks more of the language but also associates more with her mother's Kelabit ancestry.

"That's because (my siblings and I) grew up around my mum's family. We always went back to mum's village in Bario, which is the highlands (in Sarawak), probably because my mum and her sisters were very close; and they came from a huge family. Whereas, we didn't see our dad's relatives as often," Balan-Law said in an interview.

But Faridah Stephens, who is of English, Japanese, Kadazan and Orang Sungai (Sabah Muslim native) parentage, does not identify with any one particular ethnic group. She said she is first Sabahan, then Malaysian.

Her father, the late Tun Fuad Stephens, was paramount leader - or Huguan Siou - of the Kadazans, and later, the first chief minister of Sabah.

"My dad, who died in 1976, championed Kadazan causes during his lifetime because at that time, they had no one else to do it. But he felt for all Sabahans. My mum is the same.

"For all these reasons, I don't really Ôidentify' with any particular race as such. I revel in the glorious cultural heritage of Sabah - and the rest of Malaysia - and enjoy it all.

"The Sabah I knew when I was growing up enjoyed 'Unity in Diversity'. I still feel that sense of oneness when I go home though it's being chiselled away by politics. I hope we don't lose it," Stephens, who lives in Kuala Lumpur, said.

Nazri Noor, who is of Sino-Dusun Banjarese and Filipino parentage, said although some people of mixed parentage may have more affinity with one ethnicity, they never really lose touch with other ethnicities in their parentage. His affinity is with Filipino culture but even then, the "Malaysian" part of him is always evident.

"When I stayed in Manila, the Malaysian bit was what made me a little more interesting - reinforced by the fact that my mum and I would speak regularly in Bahasa, as our kind of secret code. It helped identify us somewhat, as a different (though not necessarily better) breed of Filipino," he said.

Nazri said when he came home to Sabah after living 13 years in the Philippines, he felt a sense of homecoming. Nevertheless, he said he did have to grapple with issues about his identity. "I'd have a lot of internal struggle É all these concerns about where I really belonged, which I found were pretty needless. I've since resolved those issues, simultaneously establishing my cultural identity," he said, adding that assimilating in Sabah was easy because there were no class or race distinctions.

Stephens looks forward to the day when Malaysians will no longer be defined by race or religion.

"In my ideal world, what race or religion we are will not figure in any official status we may have. If the daily newspapers are anything to go by, what race and/or religion a person is says very little about whether he or she is good or bad, needs help or doesn't need help.

"There will come a time when having our race and religion on official documentation will no longer be tenable. Why do I say that? Because I believe we are all better than that," she said.

There are a lot of other things that makes her - and each of us - Malaysian, she added.

"Being born here, having my roots here. Being here in this geographical space and time makes us Malaysian. I lived overseas for many years of my life but Malaysia, Sabah especially, will always be home," said Stephens.

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