Look east for spirit of Malaysia

I found an interesting piece of commentary by Zainul Ariffin in his column on page 8 of the 23rd Sept NST. I think its worth reading and commenting upon since it concerns some very core issues with regards to the formation of Malaysia and the future of what had been agreed by leaders on either side of the South China Sea in 1963.

ZAINUL ARIFIN
Look east for spirit of Malaysia
2009/09/23


I HAVE often been reminded by friends and colleagues, as well as readers, at times rather testily, with more than a hint of irritation, that Sabah and Sarawak did not join Malaysia.

Instead the two then British colonies, together with Singapore, teamed up with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.

Admittedly, many in the peninsula -- Orang Semenanjung -- are ignorant of this fact and guilty of the occasional slip. Even if they are historically aware, at times they cannot see beyond the political semantics of who did what, why and when. Intentional or otherwise, this offends our fellow citizens.

The Malayans, Sarawakians and Sabahans came together, not the two lining up to Kuala Lumpur asking to be part of a fledgling nation, I have often been told. The latter suggests one wishing to be part of something, while for the former, one is an active equal partner.


It is a big deal for our brethren across the South China Sea as it means that the two states are of equal standing with the entire Peninsular Malaysia. Now, we can argue all we want on this point, including the fact that the two then might not necessarily have been able to withstand Indonesia's advances and Malaysia remained the best choice for them, but the fact is that is the truth. For people from Peninsular Malaysia, ignore this fact at your own peril, and continue to irritate your fellow citizens.

Thus it is sometimes not surprising that some East Malaysians do not look kindly to Merdeka Day celebrations on Aug 31 to being the biggest bash for the nation. They much prefer Sept 16, instead. Obviously, the latter would give more importance to the two states and their positions in the country.

I suppose we could argue the merits of this argument, but perhaps more important than another public holiday -- can there be anything more important than a day off? -- is how do we as a country recognise and celebrate the Malaysia that it is now, which includes the coming together and formation of Malaysia, as well later Singapore being out of the fold. Malaysia Day (Sept 16) is already a public holiday in Sabah and Sarawak -- underlining the importance they put on the date, as well as Aug 31.

I personally feel that we should all celebrate Aug 31 as the pivotal point in the nation's history; it was Day One for the country. It was from then that it began to evolve.

The United States, for example, celebrates independence day on July 4, the date in 1776 when the 13 original colonies came together to form a country. Since then it has grown to 50 states, but the date remains as the singular, unifying day for the country.

Now that is my opinion, and many may very well put forth more potent arguments otherwise. But for me the more important is how do we celebrate the formation of Malaysia, as well as Merdeka Day? Rather than debate over which is the more important date for the country, in which we shall tend to be geographically-parochial, we must be able to develop better programmes than the Bulan Merdeka activities that we have every year.

For a start, we must begin to teach history properly. Perhaps a series of programmes that gets more of us from both sides of the waters to understand more of each other and what each of us brings to the nation's table.

Perhaps even a national integration policy that encourages the movement of jobs and people both in the public and private sectors. I know this is a sticky point, but why must there be separate immigration rules for fellow citizens entering the two states? Forty-six years on, they cannot still be trying to take over the states on the sly. Incidentally, the current political fascination with the two states, as well as their citizens' extra spring in their gait, are especially so after last year's general election that saw Sabah and Sarawak's pivotal role in making sure of the continuity of the Barisan Nasional government.

Consequently, in the much-hyped and publicised attempt to take over the Federal Government on Sept 16 last year, elected representatives from the two states were courted. Although Pakatan Rakyat failed, and not a pip was heard of their grand takeover plan this year, it showed the two states growing importance in Malaysia's greater political game.



This has also shifted the balance of power and is likely to manifest itself further in future. Our countrymen in East Malaysia are now being courted by politicians from both sides of the divide, naturally. If political punditry is spot-on, who wins over Sabah and Sarawak, would likely get the whole country. Oh, what a time to be East Malaysians.



Maybe it is a karmic comeuppance to the West Malaysians for the years of not knowing the country's history.

I personally feel, however, that rather than pursue East Malaysians for their political worth, which I must say can be potentially hugely rewarding, there must be something more that we can learn from them.

For instance, while many of us these day are mired in, or tend to be drawn into racism, Sabahans and Sarawakians are known for being able to look beyond tribal roots and ethnicities. What is it about Borneo that makes the people such? Is it the water? Perhaps being on an island with a heady mix of communities makes for a hothouse of tolerance? Can we bottle whatever it is and ship it to West Malaysia, since we desperately need whatever it may be?

It is thus no coincidence that the prime minister was inspired, among others, by people from the two states and agreed that they have been living, breathing 1Malaysia from early on. If we are serious about the state of the nation, then we should try to figure out how we can apply what they have to the rest of the country. I believe this is more important to Malaysia, than the annual debate about Aug 31 and Sept 16, or the political courting.

Anyway, I hope it is not too late, but Happy Malaysia Day and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.


What's my take on this. First and foremost, I'll have to state here that I agree with the initial part of his views on the importance of 16th September, 1963 to people in Sarawak and Sabah. It really does not matter which date is to be observed as official dates of celebrations, but what is important is that due importance and respect should be accorded to 16th September. This has not been quite happening as evidence from the posting of the Prime Minister's blog which says:


Quote: On this day (16 September) forty-six years ago, Malaysia welcomed Sabah and Sarawak as states and set out on a course toward becoming one of the leading nations in the world. I was only 10 years old when my father, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, witnessed the historic proclamation of Sabah’s independence in 1963, but I remember how proud he was during that momentous occasion. Sabah and Sarawak occupy a special place in my heart because of that history.

My commitment to 1Malaysia – to the idea that our differences in race and religion are what make our country distinct – is inspired by what I have seen in Sabah and Sarawak. The diversity of our citizens there has formed the basis for many of the most ambitious civil policies that my administration has undertaken, all with the goal of harnessing the power of our different national ethnic and religious groups to form the foundation of our global competitiveness and cultural identity. Unquote.

On the second part of Zainur's comment as to the need to do away with two sets of immigration laws for Sarawak and Sabah, I beg to differ with his views. We have this creature we popularly called social contracts between people of different racial background in the country to safeguard and protect rights & interest of certain groups, the immigration powers vested in these two states are much in the same manner social contracts between the people of Peninsula Malaysia and the two East Malaysian states. The powers should be there in as long as the two states want it to tbe there and its not for other people outside the states to say that they ought to be removed. In order for 1Malaysia to work the people on the other side of the sea should understand the sentiments of the people on the eastern side in as much as the people on the eastern side should understand the people on the opposite side. Cheers.