Hantu Laut
I am really not sure whether I understand what the writer is trying to convey here.If it is an attempt at creative writing or a tongue in cheek than he failed on both counts.
It blows wide open the writer's attempt at juggling the reality of our diverse cultures in the East, where we live side by side and yet found no discomfort with each other.Nor do we have an issue in sharing the same God.
We, East Malaysians do know the geographical difference of the Occidental West from the western part of this nation and unlike you guys we certainly don't conjure images of Western imperialism as something confined to US Army and the irresistible Coke.Neither, do we watch too much Fox super serial or 'E' channel.It gives us indigestion.
Surely, if you are from Selangor you would say so, unless, there is some degree of ignorance and foolishness on your part or worse still if you are suffering from a pseudo-superiority complex and think Sabah and Sarawak are third world countries somewhere in the South Pacific.
An American from California certainly wouldn't tell a New Yorker in New York that he came from America.
As a matter of fact (the Filipinos would pronounce it as 'as a matter of fuck') we are the bigger Malaysia.Our land mass is three times bigger than Peninsula Malaysia.Not only are we bigger in size we have also contributed more to the Federal coffers than what we got back in return.But, being ingenuous people we really don't mind to help out.
Poor Eddie! I must tell you, ignorance is not bliss, it's dangerous.There is no such thing as Sarawakian nationality, it's provincial term, just an analogy.
You certainly can call yourself Sarawakian while in the country but not if your are outside Malaysia. Don't let the guy think you are kind of stupid, inside Malaysia you are Sarawakian.There is nothing wrong with that.
It's a bit disappointing that you don't know who the deputy prime minister is.Don't feel so bad, you are not alone, next time you are in KL go ask some of the Chinese hawkers in Chow Kit, like you, they probably draw a blank too.
I don't really blame you or other East Malaysians for not knowing the Federal cabinet well, because some of the ministers themselves do not know East Malaysia that well too.Try asking some of them where Long Pasia or Lawas is? You be surprised "kat mana tu?" would be the response.
Anyway, we are kind of a nation within a nation. Sabah and Sarawak have full cabinet ministers, unlike other states in Peninsula Malaysia, they only have what they called 'Excos" which are of lower rank than ministers.
Do you know that the chief ministers of Sabah and Sarawak, with the exception of the prime minister and deputy prime minister, in term of protocol, are above other federal ministers? Our chief ministers are still entitled to police outriders when on official duties, the federal ministers and menteri besars are not.So, you see, we are kind of autonomous regions of Malaysia, we have self-government, at least to a significant degree.
Being in a federal system, obviously there mush be a central government to take care of the bigger things. Sabah, Sarawak,Singapore and the Federation of Malaya formed Malaysia, we were not colonised, if you know what I meant.Singapore was kicked out in 1965 because Lee Kuan Yew wanted Malaysian Malaysia, the same sloganeering now used by DAP and endorsed by Anwar Ibrahim and Nik Aziz.
Without Sabah and Sarawak there would be no Malaysia.Can you imagine what Malaya would be like without Malaysia?
Almost all new oilfields are now found on the western seaboard of Sabah.We also have the largest acreage of oil palm plantation in the country.Sarawak has the single largest LNG export terminal in the world and exports one of Malaysia's largest export earners. That's money gone into federal coffers that partly financed the building of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya through Petronas.
So, we are not at all innocent bystander, we have contributed to the progress of West Malaysia.Unfortunately, the writer either doesn't know it or if he does, chose to ignore our contributions.
As inferred by the writer we certainly are not mean spirited and unfriendly like the Grinch who stole Christmas. We share Christmas with everyone.
The only thing we did and did right was denied Anwar Ibrahim the premiership.
5 comments:
Haha, good shout HL. You tell those ignoramus of the west!
Sadly, as you said the east has contributed so much to the infrastructure over there with so little to show over here. It is only lately that when the powers are threatened are they willing to put some money back here where it belongs. The government must not be too comfortable and be drunk with unfettered power.
HL,
How true (to a point!).
After pointing very rightly what the East Malaysians have done for Malaysia (& very rightly so) you point out how the Federal Govt. has used "your" Oil Money (don't forget the Timber Money that has been flowing into the coffers of the MB of Sarawak & his family for decades!) for the benefit of West Msia...then you say you very rightly denied DSAI the Premiership!
Like I said you hatered of DSAI seems very deep rooted!
Anyway...the Federal Govt. & the Sarawakian & Sabahan Leaders who have "raped" & plundered East Malaysia all belong in one way or the other to the glorious BN Govt. of which you are so proud of!
Yes, DSAI was once in UMNO BUT you can't go on diverting your attacks towards him when the real culprits have ALWAYS been the BN.
You guys are the fixed deposit of the BN (as Mr. Powerless PM pointed out recently) & nothing more!
Go on keep supporting them bah...they will continue to rape Sabah & Sarawak until there is no more to rape & then they will leave you guys "high & dry"!
Kangkang Adik Kangkang, UMNO masuk lubang. That about sums up the stupidity of the Hantulauts in East Malaysia.
Bro, seems like another devisive writing by someone who like to think he is a neutral NGO or something but more to me like a closet Opposition politician hell bent in trying to divide Malaysia into two, the West and the East.
That guy Eddie he quoted is definitely a fictitious character created to put spice in an obvious message to poison the minds of our Sabah and Sarawak Brethrens. I've been to Sarawak and Sabah for business and pleasure and have met with people who comfortably think themselves as Malaysians and knows who the current PM and DPM are.
There are enough Articles in the Perlembagaan Malaysia put in by the Reid Commission to ensure that Sabah and Sarawak is well protected from what Bro SM like to say...rape by "the peninsular brothers" ehem..
Heck, our Sabah an Sarawak brethrens can work freely in the peninsular while the brothers from the peninsular must have work permits to work in Sabah or Sarawak.
Not forgetting also that there are many businessman from Sarawak and Sabah who procured multi million and billlion ringgit jobs in Malaysia, names like Tan Sri Ting Pek Khing and the Rimbunan Hijau owner Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King and of course the late Tan Sri Lau Gek Poh's Hap Seng Group spring to my mind, all of whom are genuine philanthropists. I do not know their political affiliation though.
Anyway you are right Bro and that is one thing that many Sabah and Sarawak politicians have that some politicians in the peninsular does not have is the ability to see through Anwar the Chameleon and his divisive politics which will ruin Malaysia.
i've always wondered what kind of malaysians we want to make of ourselves no matter where we come from and where we live and what we do for a living.
many of us tend to generalize many things about being who and what and where. And for what ? We are all Malaysians and that means Malaysian citizens. I don't know if East Malaysians are lesser citizens like the Chinese Malaysians claim they are. i read this in many blogs. Are they ? Or they want to or made to feel that way for some unknown reason? Does it matter what tribe we decended from ? There are hundreds if not thousands of them; some many of us don't even know exist or know how to correctly pronounce its name. We are probably the only country on the face of the earth in which its citizens speak hundreds of different dialects. Can we all leave it like it is ? Why follow political cues ? We bloody learn this from the western masters, didn't we ? This lazy, this hardworking, this brave, this timid, this and that always. The propaganda has poisoned our brains for generations to the point that now it becomes very diffcult for us to unlearn it. But we must!
We have all one time or another lived to the master's rule. All of us. The Semenanjung Malays from the 11 political states had the worst experience of them all and for centuries not decades. Now we can all learn from this painful history which otherwise would have developed into a quite different one culturally. Take it as God will it no matter which God one believes in. Don't they teach this in every religion ?
Yes the level of tolerance among ethnics in Sabah and Sarawak is high. This is something we could learn from. Are we saying we have no such tolerance in the peninsula ? Look again, where did it all begin ? And who are saying this ? It is really true or is it made out to be for some unknown gains to somebody ? UMNO perhaps like many want to belive and always in many allegations. But how true ?
We all live in a democtratic country so be democtratic.
I personnaly believe that Sabah and Sarawak should have had some focus from the Federal administators long time ago. It is happening now despite late. We all cannot have what we want and in timely manner. That is God's job. Buy we can work on to get it quicker.
It is human to complain. If we are all satisfied with ourselves, now that's a lesser life. Believe me some who have a dozen Benz will still complain that the 13th one is coming too slow to him.
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