Another public holiday? You would think Malaysians from Sabah and Sarawak in particular would be a little bit more enthusiastic about Hari Malaysia (Malaysia Day) being celebrated as a national holiday on Sept 16 from next year.
My own reaction had neither grace nor finesse. I snorted. And I wasn’t alone.
Talking to fellow Malaysians from the two states (previously East Malaysia), I heard there was little outright joy. Most greeted the news with wariness and a touch of cynicism.
Perhaps I exaggerate. Make that a lot of cynicism.
Elfie Jane, a Kadazan from Sabah had this to say: “Well, I’m not that enthusiastic, because it should have been done a long time ago.
“Most Malaysians don’t even know the meaning of Sept 16 so to them, it will just be another public holiday.”
Yong, a Sabahan working in Singapore, agreed: “Finally! But it also sounds a lot like (premier) Najib (Abdul Razak) trying to placate us. That’s the cynic in me talking.”
He added that until he sees more action, he will take the move at face value.
Notorious blogger Sibu-born Poh Huai Bin of sixthseal.com frankly admitted that though it “feels good to be federally accepted”, all he cares about is getting to celebrate not one, but two independence days.
Why the general lack of enthusiasm?
The fact is declaring a holiday on Sept 16 does little to address the problems faced in Sabah and Sarawak, such as the income divide, lack of infrastructure and lack of integration between the two states and those in the peninsula (formerly West Malaysia).
Najib was quoted as saying: “We want the joy and sorrows of the people in Sabah and Sarawak to be felt by the people in the peninsula.”
I seriously doubt that a public holiday will give West Malaysians more pause for thought. But there is growing anger among many East Malaysians about what they perceive as an unfair and small share of the nation’s wealth.
“We’ve been shortchanged by the federal government in so many ways. Look at how liquefied petroleum gas is cheaper in West Malaysia when Sarawak produces it,” said Poh.
Another Sabahan, Christina Orow, said she has grown to dislike what Malaysia has become.
What is Malaysia, really? It has become obvious that the perceptions of what Malaysia is, should have been and what it could be, are miles apart.
Another public holiday is merely a crowd pleaser; a public relations move that is showy but doesn’t address the actual problem.
East Malaysians are not only dissatisfied but also now very keen to voice their grouses – among these is that West Malaysians are heading federal departments in Sabah.
A former civil servant, who declined to be named, said the reality is that officers from the peninsula are beholden to different socio-cultural norms. What makes it worse is when these heads attempt to impose those norms on locals, a common state of affairs.
West Malaysian agendas mean little to East Malaysians.
The ‘divide and rule’ game is hard to play, especially in Sabah where entire clans might be made up of different races and religions.
This lack of understanding of how the other side lives is the biggest stumbling block to real integration in the country.
Address the ignorance
To most West Malaysians, East Malaysia might as well be a foreign country.
Any East Malaysian will all have stories of some West Malaysian asking one of these (or similar) questions:
- Do you live on trees?
- Do you live at the foot of Mount Kinabalu?
- Are there orang utans where you live?
- Do you keep orang utans as pets?
- Do they get TV3 where you are? How’s the reception?
- Have you ever seen a highway before?
- Do you wear clothes over there?
- Ah, you’re from Sabah/Sarawak. How long have you been in Malaysia?
I wish I was making up those questions. Unfortunately, real people have been asked those very real and very stupid enquiries.
We tend to make those broad generalisations about foreigners – all Americans wear cowboy hats; all Frenchmen wear berets, sit in cafes and drink too much coffee; and all Germans are dour.
But when we make them about our own citizens, something is wrong.
It doesn’t help that most local tourism ads have airbrushed photos of smiling natives in traditional costumes, posing with their rickety longhouses and maybe a cow or two.
Since it would be economically unfeasible to fly every single West Malaysian over to see that, yes, East Malaysians do wear clothes, what can be done?
Rethinking our history syllabus might be a good start.
Declaring Sept 16 a holiday means nothing if West Malaysians aren’t properly informed about its significance.
Open any secondary school history textbook and note the Malaya-centric focus. A huge part of the syllabus is also dedicated to Islamic history, chronicling the caliphs and even Turkey’s emancipation.
In comparison, Sabah and Sarawak are covered in a brief chapter.
Address the ignorance. Highlight the sacrifices, the struggles, the people instrumental to Malaysia’s formation.
The way our history books are written, you’d be forgiven for thinking that our venerable leaders of Malaya brokered the deal all by themselves.
On that note, what about getting West Malaysians, especially the politicians, more clued in on geography? Sabah is 30 times the size of Malacca but the budget allocation doesn’t reflect that.
1Malaysia, many headaches
What West Malaysians don’t get is that their agenda is not the East Malaysian agenda.
The politics of Sabah and Sarawak politics are complicated. Try telling that to both the ruling coalition and the opposition front.
PKR found that out the hard way by appointing Azmin Ali as its Sabah chief. It was never going to work.
Azmin has neither the political clout nor the cultural understanding of the complexities of dealing with East Malaysian politics.
Of course, there’s also the puzzling existence of Umno in Sabah when technically Sabah doesn’t really have many Malays. There are Muslims, represented predominantly by the Bajau community, the Suluk, the Melayu Brunei and the converts from other races.
What, then, is Umno’s role in Sabah besides assuring that the federal government is represented?
Since I’m not qualified to speak of Sarawak’s troubles, I will instead impart a useful piece of advice to anyone who meets a Sarawakian.
Don’t get him started on land rights. He (or she) will likely start turning a different colour, his voice will start rising a pitch and you might probably not understand the torrent of angry words released.
Yes, East Malaysian politics is very colourful and very complicated. If even the politicians don’t understand East Malaysia, what more the regular West Malaysian on the street?
I admit, the whole 1Malaysia and Malaysia Day hubbub has me sceptical.
Yet there are East Malaysians who are happy that at least the federal government is doing something.
Looking at Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s tenure as premier, you are reminded how little recognition East Malaysia received.
When asked to comment, Mahathir’s snide rejoinder was: “We should have more holidays, (so we have) less work. Work is not important, holiday is important.”
Catalina from Sarawak said she was rather disappointed with Mahathir for laughing at the whole idea. So am I. What did you give us, Mahathir?
I remember two terms of Sabah being ‘punished’ for daring to abandon Barisan Nasional (BN). Even after Sabah’s return to BN, nothing has changed.
The people are still poor, integration is still an unsolved puzzle and now, look…without Sabah and Sarawak, BN would have lost its control of the federal government in the last general election.
Thanks, but…
As gestures go, Najib’s is a welcome but insufficient one. East Malaysia kept him in power, it deserves more than just a token holiday.
East Malaysia has been neglected for far too long. East Malaysians have been treated as asides, not citizens.
It is a disturbing and tragic trend in this country to throw away and replace things far too easily. We are in love with the disposable as opposed to the enduring.
We replace history with more politically correct and pleasing versions.
We demolish an old landmark to build a new underpass.
We remodel ‘heritage buildings’ into gaudy tourist attractions.
We displace squatters, we make homeless the poor to make houses for the rich.
For too long, people have treated East Malaysia as not just a throwaway, but a throwback. Backward, ignorant, dispensable.
Now that we’re not dispensable any more, let’s make one thing very clear.
We don’t want a public holiday; we just want to be heard. Let’s just hope there are people listening.
Originally published in Malaysiakini on 20 October 2009. Republished with permission from the author.
