Sunday September 14, 2008
Forty-five years on, Sabah and Sarawak have more sense of belonging in Malaysia but their peninsula brethren still see them as a misty blur.
FORTY-FIVE years ago, the founding fathers of Sabah and Sarawak extended their hands to Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and agreed to come together to forge the new nation of Malaysia.
Today, their sons and daughters are ambivalent about that pact.
blind: Learning to get along as children prepares them for life in multi-cultural Sabah.
Time and again, they remind their penisula kin that they should not be seen as “just another state in the federation” but an equal partner in making up Malaysia. In other words, they want to be recognised as being a third of the expanded federation, not just one of 14.
In terms of bargaining power, it makes a big difference.
Jameson Tai, 46, Lun Bawang native liaison officer attached to Samling’s reforestation programme in Sarawak, has “no regrets (about having formed Malaysia). He is, however, “a bit disappointed because we are treated not as equal partner but an adik (younger brother) or second class.”
Tai feels “the term ‘join Malaysia’ should be rectified. It is as if Malaysia was already there. If Sabah and Sarawak, together with Singapore and Brunei at first, had not agreed, there would be no Malaysia, just Malaya.”
While they want to be a part of Malaysia – the alternative in terms of security is too daunting – they also feel they have been given a raw deal.
transport: Plying the river is a way of life for Sarawakians despite 45 years of development.
While acknowledging the “tremendous development” achieved, Amde Sidik, 56, a researcher and local columnist asked: “Are we being fairly treated? The majority of Sabahans began to ask whether we were joining Malaysia or were partners within Malaysia.”
It is a critical question in the 20 points that formed the basis of the Malaysia Agreement all of 45 years ago, much of it since eroded by time. The two states are left with land and mining, revenue from natural resources other than oil, and immigration.”
Sabahans and Sarawakians take cultural sensitivities in their stride. Intermarriage – and by extension mixed parentage – are the norm and contribute tremendously to “colour blind” ethnic relations.
So, despite the importance of this year’s 45th anniversary, Sabahans and Sarawakians will not be marking Malaysia Day with the usual colourful street gala out of respect for Muslims observing Ramadan.
They are also deeply hurt when their brethren on the peninsula play the race card. Fadzil Abdullah, 47, a free-lance consultant in the safety and health industry, said: “Our views are a bit distorted right now (referring to varied reactions to suspended Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Ahmad Ismail’s alleged racist remarks). We are not even considered bumi because bumis are only Malays.”
Fadzil himself is a mix of Bajau, Kadazan and Chinese. He was Catholic but converted to Islam 20 years ago.
“There are Muslims in Sabah but there are no (pure) Malays,” unless one counted those of Brunei descent.
“Here a Muslim can sit in a coffeeshop with his non-Muslim friend, and as long as they don’t do anything non-halal, they can talk about anything.”
The reason the Opposition has been so successful in fishing in Sabah and Sarawak’s troubled waters is precisely because of the peninsula’s apparent neglect of these two states.
Sabah and Sarawak have long asked the federal government to declare Sept 16 a public holiday. As Kuala Lumpur dithered, along came Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who promised it to them “next year”.
Until today, Sabah and Sarawak are only pushed to the fore when Malaysia needs to showcase its multicultural identity: to attract tourists, at food festivals, in calendars and, of course, on Merdeka Day.
Since March 8, the Government has been making concessions. When leaders from the two states made their unhappiness known after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced his post-election Cabinet, he quickly tried to make amends. The Speaker of Parliament and two Deputy Speakers, as well as the chairman of the Backbenchers Club now all hail from Sabah and Sarawak.
It was not enough. Not having a Bidayuh minister hurt the local community, not just the Bidayuh MP.
Melissa Leong, 29, an events executive with the Sabah Tourism Board said: “There’s a strong sentiment that we were a bit short-changed after what we did to win the election.”
The immediate political uncertainties ahead have not helped: talk of crossovers and the zeroing in of expectations on Sabah and Sarawak MPs to lead the way to form a new government have left people unsettled.
Arthur Grieg, 28, an administrative executive of mixed Sino-Kadazan parentage noted: “Everyone’s jumpy. If you are a businessman, you are not sure if you want to venture into a government association.”
In Budget 2009, Abdullah gave a generous allocation to the two states.
“That recognition for Sabah and the help that we need means a lot to us,” said Melissa.
“Sabah is taken for granted. It can contribute but we are often overlooked, for instance in sports.
“Tourism is our second largest industry. The federal government can help us with marketing Sabah.”
It is not that the Government has not chanelled funds to Sabah and Sarawak. It is just that the sheer size and disparity are so great that it will take years to bridge the gap.
Born in July 1963, James Pieng, a Melanau businessman, turned 45 with the nation this year. He appreciates that a lot of the infrastructure the state enjoys is due to being in Malaysia.
“Sarawak is so big, mahu sabar sikit (we have to be a bit patient),” he urged.
Not everyone can wait. Grieg noted that “Some Sabahans in the interior still earn RM250 per month. In Pensiangan and Kota Marudu, there are people who have never met outsiders.”
“We in Sabah and Sarawak are not exactly reaping as much as we should,” said Melissa. “Sabah is the richest state in natural resources, yet it is the poorest.”
“Back home, physical development is slow,” agreed Grieg.
“There is one flyover starting from the Karamunsing traffic lights heading to Luyang and Tuaran. On the human side, the mindset of the 1960s and 70s is changing but very slowly.”
East Malaysians take pride in their legendary hospitality. Fadzil’s assertion that “Sabahans are very quick to invite you to our homes” was no empty claim.
Yet flying into Kuching, the airport arrival hall signage made the opposite patently clear. One reads: “Domestic arrivals” while another said: “International arrivals (including passengers from Semenanjung)”.
It is a perception that cuts both ways. “We feel like an outsider when we go to Semenanjung. Some people even ask what currency we use,” said Melissa incredulously.
Immigration remains one of the 20 points jealously guarded by the two states. It is a sore point for peninsular Malaysians but those from the east see it as necessary measure to protect their nascent workforce from being swamped. Workers from the peninsula need work permits and a sponsor, while lawyers need special practising certificates before they can hang up their shingle.
To this, younger ones like Sabah lawyer Cecilia Chin feel that “for both parties to benefit from each other, we (Sabahans) have to open our gates first.”
This would certainly help integration. As much as she is proud to be Sabahan, Melissa also chaffs at west Malaysians’ “backward view” of her beloved state and ignorance of another part of their own country.
Grieg elaborated: “In Semenanjung, the mental perception remains that we live on trees. I cannot blame them because they think the kampung is like the Amazon or Africa, which they watch on television.”
“We are grateful to be Malaysians. No regrets, no regrets. I am proud to go to London and say I am Malaysian. I don’t say I am from Sabah – unless they ask,” said Fadzil.
Having two independence dates, however, has confused the younger generation, noted Amde. As many as 90% of his university students cannot differentiate between Aug 31 and Sept 16 probably because they were born before the period.
Meanwhile, some of the older generation have wondered whether their leaders then were competent enough to make the decision on their behalf, he added.
“How extensive was the referendum, how well informed was the public? Did the Cobold Commission go deep into the jungle to ask the people what they thought?” asked Amde.
Building bridges
It is now up to the federal Government to be more nurturing in managing federal-state relations.
Otherwise, the integration with Kuala Lumpur will diminish. As Fadzil said: “Since 1963, we should all be Malaysian. It should not be west is west and east is east.”
Malaysia Day was, after all, the day to celebrate bridging the divide.
In interior Sarawak, 45 years of nationhood are measured in physical amenities.
Tai, the Lun Bawang “jungle man”, was comfortable speaking on behalf of the Orang Ulu of the Ba’kelalan Highlands, since he commutes between his job in Lawas and weekends at home with his family in Long Luping.
Tai is happy with SK Long Luping, a three-storey primary school built for about RM5mil a few years ago, so children from surrounding villages need not trek for days to attend school.
Medical services are a walking distance away.
Roads, the harbinger of all subsequent development, allowed people to go to Lawas anytime.
“With the road, villagers can now hop on a private vehicle and sell their vegetables at the timber camp 5km away,” he said.
But the one-time logging road was built and fully maintained by the timber company, with which locals have an uneasy relationship.
“How nice if the federal government can improve the road,” said Tai. The fare from Lawas to Long Luping which used to be RM20 before the fuel price hike is now RM50 one way, because of the condition of the road and ensuing wear and tear on the vehicle and tyres.
It is not much better on the pan-Borneo highway, which Pieng, operator of Sarawak’s express bus service, likens to a jalan ladang in Semenanjung (estate road on the peninsula).”
“Overheads are very high” on the Kuching-Miri stretch and there are “not enough passengers because with the roads so bad, people would rather fly.”
Rural electrification through hydro or solar projects and treated drinking water would be welcome.
“Some village houses are dark now because they cannot afford the RM5 for two litres of diesel to run the household generator each night,” Tai said.
Not all development has been good. Pollution, for example, has changed village life.
“Wild animals are scarce. You cannot find wild boar, a local delicacy, anymore. The fruit trees (on which they feed) have been chopped down by the logging company.
“Our native customary rights (NCR) land kena gadai (have been pawned),” observed Tai.
“When the logging company encroaches into out NCR land, some get compensated, others don’t.
“The Petronas gas pipeline from Sabah to Bintulu passes through our customary land. But we were told it’s state land.
“Why can’t Petronas give the villagers junction pipes wherever they pass through, as it does in Miri where people pay only RM15 per month for gas.”
Nevertheless, “my kampung has enough,” Tai said, counting his blessings.
