WHEN I was younger and more impulsive, it was a constant struggle to endure the
humiliation of fellow Malaysians giving you the invariably innocent but still
absolutely grating first-time greeting of "Welcome to Malaysia" each time I set
foot in the peninsula and they learnt I was from Sarawak.
It is a "humiliation" ritual that endures to this day. Many
hapless Malaysians from Sabah and Sarawak are not without similar tales of such
experiences.
Many from Sabah and Sarawak are of course exceedingly proud to be from these two
states; a pride bordering on and even often crossing over into repulsive
parochialism.
The ritual "humiliation" is particularly wicked and entertaining for the fact
that those from Sabah and Sarawak never tire of celebrating and advertising
their "distinctiveness" from the peninsula, only to be reduced to near-helpless
agitation on being nonchalantly and unconsciously told by their peninsular
greeters that as far as they are concerned, Sabah and Sarawak are not part of
Malaysia!
How could one possibly be agitated when in the first instance one proclaims
"separateness" from the rest of Malaysia, only to have the rest of Malaysia come
back at you that, yes, you are, in fact, a country apart!
I have since outgrown what I consider to be a child-like need
to assert oneself, born out of a certain crisis of identity, perhaps, about who
one is and where one comes from.
To those who still bid me welcome to my own country, I now look at them with
bemused nonchalance of my own, verging slightly on pity. These fellows are
usually young and have not travelled much outside their homes. Hence their sense
of what is Malaysia is narrowly confined to familiar surroundings.
A country that stretches beyond the sea is simply a bridge too far for their
imagination.
The corollary of feeling secure in my own identity is my growing intolerance and
contempt towards those from Sabah and Sarawak who, in my view, simply refuse to
grow up.
Canadians from Alberta or Newfoundland or Australians from Western Australia or
Tasmania may gripe incessantly, if good-naturedly, about being left out of the
action centred round Toronto or Montreal in Canada and Sydney and Melbourne in
Australia. But when they separately came into confederation (in Canada’s case)
or the commonwealth (as in Australia), these became trifling non-issues that
never prevent them celebrating every single Canada or Australia Day each year
with equal fervour.
At the end of the day, Canada and Australia work because each province or state
is comfortable and secure enough within its own borders, enjoys vast autonomy to
conduct its own affairs, yet recognises the clear advantages of being part of a
national entity that is more than just the sum of all its parts, especially when
faced with the uncharted and possibly treacherous waters of globalisation.
There is none of that tantrum-throwing about such superficialities as when Sabah
and Sarawak actually came into the federation, and on which date and how many
years of independence we should all be really celebrating. The reality is that
we have all these years been celebrating our Merdeka on Aug 31 and never
disputed that the bulk of our nation gained independence six years ahead of
Sabah and Sarawak.
Both states have in the past cheerfully celebrated this special day, leaving the
number of years since 1957 as is but always adding the number of years since
1963 to accommodate the actual number of years Sabah and Sarawak have been
independent.
The reaction in Sabah and Sarawak to this year’s celebrations seemed tied to the
natural and understandable desire by many Malaysians to want to mark 50 years
since 1957 more specially.
The reaction exposes nothing but a negative chip on the shoulder carried by
still far too many in Sabah and Sarawak. Far from being neglected, the two
states have been lavished with plenty of official attention and government
funds, far more than what they could fairly have expected on a per capita basis.
The two states still lag far behind states in the peninsula and this remains a
sore bone of contention. But it reflects a lack of maturity to be expecting more
and more hand-outs without accepting correspondingly more responsibility.
Population sparseness also militates against more rapid economic expansion and
development. Addressing this population conundrum lies solely with the people of
Sabah and Sarawak.
An identity crisis for Sarawakians, Sabahans written by Lim Kock Hooi,
Friday, September 14 2007 09:23 am
I am a Sarawakian who has spent the second half of my life to date here in KL. Whilst I do not disagree with most of what the author has written, I have the following observations:
1. Sarawak and Sabah never had a shared history with Malaya/Singapore prior to the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Sarawak, through a strange twist of history, had been ruled by a white rajah since 1839 before it briefly became a British colony from 1946 to 1963. This perhaps explains why the intense racial polarisation in the Peninsula here does not obtain in Sarawak, although with the introduction of federal policies, it has set root. Sadly , the introduction of peninsular-based politics will only accelerate the process of racial polarisatioon. Sabah is a good example.
2. Arising from the above, there is more religious tolerance in Sarawak. Look at the Chinese temple sited in the middle of a Malay village in Muara Tuang in Kuching. That, if it ever happened in the Peninsula, would have caused a riot. Look at what happened in Sabah recently which led to the resignation of the deputy CM to get an idea of how religious tolerance has vanished.
3. About 99.9% of Peninsular Malaysians equate bumiputras with Malays. The real identity crisis is that of the natives of Sarawak and Sabah who are truly the indigenous peoples, but who although de jure bumiputras, are often forgotten in the context of bumiputra-non bumiputra dichotomy of Peninsular-based politics and policies.
Lim Kock Hooi
Why West Malaysian lawyers cannot practise there written by Jeffrey John,
Friday, September 14 2007 12:38 pm
If Sabah & Sarawak want the issue of separateness to disappear - then this question has to be answered - why are west Malaysian lawyers not allowed to practice in Sabah or Sarawak - perhaps the author should consider how much, Sabah and Sarawak actually want to be separated with such practices so in truth they are getting what they want "distinctiveness" - I don't really see the author's need to complain or his state of being bemused and further not opening up the doors to west Malaysian lawyers militates against legal development don't you think?
Jeffrey John
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I am a Sarawakian who has spent the second half of my life to date here in KL. Whilst I do not disagree with most of what the author has written, I have the following observations:
1. Sarawak and Sabah never had a shared history with Malaya/Singapore prior to the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Sarawak, through a strange twist of history, had been ruled by a white rajah since 1839 before it briefly became a British colony from 1946 to 1963. This perhaps explains why the intense racial polarisation in the Peninsula here does not obtain in Sarawak, although with the introduction of federal policies, it has set root. Sadly , the introduction of peninsular-based politics will only accelerate the process of racial polarisatioon. Sabah is a good example.
2. Arising from the above, there is more religious tolerance in Sarawak. Look at the Chinese temple sited in the middle of a Malay village in Muara Tuang in Kuching. That, if it ever happened in the Peninsula, would have caused a riot. Look at what happened in Sabah recently which led to the resignation of the deputy CM to get an idea of how religious tolerance has vanished.
3. About 99.9% of Peninsular Malaysians equate bumiputras with Malays. The real identity crisis is that of the natives of Sarawak and Sabah who are truly the indigenous peoples, but who although de jure bumiputras, are often forgotten in the context of bumiputra-non bumiputra dichotomy of Peninsular-based politics and policies.
Lim Kock Hooi