Erna Mahyuni Aru You Not Of Malay Stock?

Hantu Laut

Although I don't agree with her inexactitude of the Malay stock ( The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia came under the "Alam Melayu" grouping and under the main Austronesian group covering the Malay Archipelago and extending as far as the Melanesian/Polynesian region) 

Though, it is not in common usage over the region it covers, it is not imprecise to refer to people from the region as Malays.

In Sabah, custom, culture and religion may be varied among the different indigenous people, but it is not wrong for Bajaus, Dusuns, Kadazans, Filipinos and other indigenous races there to identify themselves as Malays under the "Rumpun Melayu" ethnic origin. 

In ethnology the ethnonym "Melayu" refers to this distinct ethnic group.

I have alway enjoy Erna's writing and have on many occasions posted her articles on the social media.

This Sabah lass is not only a good writer, but also a truly devoted Sabahan, as one can see from her consummate writings on issues concerning Sabah.

MARCH 6 — To paint the Sabah situation as “virtuous Sabah natives” against “invading foreign terrorists” is far too simplistic.

The reality is as complex as Sabah’s political landscape, enmeshed in history and complicated by the notion of statehood.

Farish Noor explains the complicated history of the various people of North Borneo and the Philippines in his column where he says:

“In the midst of the chest-thumping, saber-rattling jingoism and hyper-nationalism we see rising in both Philippines and Malaysia today, we ought to take a step back and look at ourselves honestly in the face.”

Historically the people of Sabah are a complex mix. With the formation of countries and borders, people who are connected by history and blood are now separated by that thing we call “citizenship.”

Sabah artist Yee I-Lan sums up that divide in one of the pictures from her “Sulu stories” series.

Of the subjects in the photo, Yee says: “One carries Malaysian identity, the other Filipino. They come from the same sea and place and knowledge.”

But while we must acknowledge history, we have to address present realities.

Whatever the Sulu descendants claim, their kingdom is long gone. Their attempt to supposedly reclaim their birthright is now seen as an act of violence.

You cannot resurrect ghosts with blood and threats.

But to people like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia is first and foremost the land of the Malays. Sabah and Sarawak do not fit in with his tidy narrative of the country being led by Malay Muslims.

Dr Mahathir for all his statesmanship could never wrap his head around the fact that in Sabah, Muslims were not always Malay. Nor that the Malay narrative could include non-Muslims.

All you need to do is look over at Bali in Indonesia with its predominantly Hindu and unmistakeably “Malay” population. But then, this is a country where many Malays live in ignorance of, or patently deny that, their ancestors ever being Hindu.Read more.

A grandmother, a baby and Sabah’s poverty:A Sabah Story

FEB 15 — Waiting at the check-in lounge for my flight home to Kota Kinabalu, I saw a woman in her senior years looking rather forlorn. She looked to be at least in her 60s; far too old to be the mother of the newborn in her arms. Besides the baby, she was also clutching what looked like one of those carriers that would hold baby bottles and nappies.

When it was time for the plane to depart, she rose, awkwardly trying to juggle the baby and the bag.

I looked around for someone accompanying her, some relative or friend, but she seemed to be alone.

“Makcik seorang ka? (Are you alone, auntie?)” I asked.

She nodded. I asked to carry her bag and she thanked me, her eyes full of relief and the tenseness about her easing a little.

We chatted for awhile and she told me the baby was her daughter’s. The baby’s parents were both working in the Peninsula because it was the only place to find work. But neither earned enough for them to be able to afford childcare so it was left to her to look after the infant.

A steward, noticing that I’d helped the old woman with her bag, smiled and thanked me. At least I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Sadly the rest of my fellow passengers were a little too preoccupied to lend a hand to the old woman. I am sure the steward would likely have taken her bag for her on the plane; he took it from me when she reached her seat, placing it in the overhead compartment for her.

She had another relative waiting for her when she arrived at the airport, fortunately. Otherwise, she, the baby and the bag would be on a rickety bus home and I’m not sure if someone would have been kind enough to take her bag.

I look at the old woman and think of my middle- and upper-middle class friends in the Klang Valley with helpers. They fuss about their “stupid”, “untrustworthy” help and few things are as discussed by these “tai-tais” than how hard it is to find good help.

But maids are a luxury; they don’t see that. The working class can’t afford maids and rely on relatives to look after the children while they work. But what if there is no doting grandparent or widowed aunt? Affordable childcare facilities aren’t easy to find and are out of reach for families that take home less than RM2,500 a month.Read more.