Ket Shin Pua
Malaysiakini
Aug 23, 2012
The recent police report made by Rozza Rothman against people from the peninsula insulting Sabah in Facebook postings reminds us again of the long and unceasing attitude of Malayans looking down on Sabah and Sabahans.
This is due mainly to the misconception created by the failure of the efforts of national integration and national unity made under the National Unity and Integration Department (Nuid) which has been operating since 1969 (after the May 13 riots), spending hundreds of millions of ringgits trying to bring together Malaysians in the peninsula and those in Borneo.
The Malaysian blog reported in July 2006 that “Probably 99 percent of Malaysians have not even heard of the very existence of the National Unity and Integration Department.
Ironically, as its name suggests, it is the one entrusted to ‘integrate’ and ‘unite’ the people and therefore should have been very familiar to the public!” the writer even commented, “What the devil have you been doing all these years except collect your monthly pay?”
The biggest problem with the Nuid is its plain ineptness, lack of creativity and drive. And the over-dominance of peninsular officers who have the attitude that it is the Borneons that need to be rehabilitated from the wild, to be civilised, so they can be on par with the more civilised Malayans.
There is less thought about rehabilitating the peninsular Malaysians into learning about Borneo which to them is unimportant and not even part of the real Malaysia.
Ever since the beginning people in the peninsula had always looked upon Sabah and Sarawak as the nation’s wild side, areas covered with trees occupied by monkeys, pythons, crocodiles and even wild men living on treetops. The Facebook insults reported by Rozza included comments saying Sabahans still live on trees.
In the past peninsular teachers coming to teach in Sabah used to shop for pain-killer tablets and toothpaste in large amounts in their hometowns before they boarded the planes to Kota Kinabalu because they believed those items can’t be found here.
In one TV live interview Dr Maximus Ongkili was called by a girl from Penang who asked what monetary currency was used in Sabah. Sabahans coming to KL are asked, “Bila sampai Malaysia?” or worse, “When is Sabah going to join Malaysia?”
I have friends who had been asked to please go ahead and enjoy the fish-head curry because “You people don’t have this in Sabah”.
The list of blatant ignorance runs long and wide, proving how ignorant people are in the peninsula. Even in the age of the Internet when surfers can easily see tens of thousands of pictures of Sabah online, they still really, really believe we live on trees.
Other the 43-year failure of the Nuid, this intolerable ignorance is also caused by the timidity and cowardice of our members of Parliament who act like wet mice in Kuala Lumpur, bowing and smiling to the Malayans as if to admit they are actually less civilised.
They allow themselves to be looked down upon to curry favours. They forget that one of their duties as the representatives of Sabahans is to educate the ignorant people of the peninsula that Sabah is a beautiful and a more peaceful place where peninsular teachers and civil servants come to get married and settle down because of the beauty of the state.
They need to shout in Parliament every now and then to remind the people there that they owe Sabah and Sarawak for the wealth and prosperity being enjoyed by them.
The fine highways, airports and buildings (including the Petronas Towers) are there because of oil from the Borneo states.
This is so ironic because Sabah, the producer of this precious black gold is mired in poverty, having terribly bad roads while they have four-lane highways even to gambling haven, Genting Highlands.
Our MPs need to shout in Parliament, “Jangan lupa orang Sabah yang kasi makan kamu!” to shame them into recognising our contribution to their prosperity there which is like 20 years ahead of us.
I urge the police to take serious action on Rozza’s report and inform us of their progress.
Soon, someone need to make a police report on the gigantic failure of the Nuid, even to sue it, or at least to audit its performance and penalise it for decades of failure to unite Malaysians.
It needs to explain why Malaysians today are more polarised than ever before and why it is not taking any action against those causing racial and religious disunity, especially people like Ibrahim Ali who is on record for threatening to kill Christians and calling for a ban on Christians from teaching in schools. If they can’t do the job the Nuid should be closed down to save precious money.
Well, very simple, UmnoB’s definition n perception of National Unity is totally different fr those of rakyat of all races
Furthermore, UmnoB’s intention is 2 colonise Sabah n Sarawak n displace/replace d natives there with their chosen ppl
After all, Sabahans n Sarawakians r simple n dumb – kena whacked left, right n centre by UmnoB/BN, many still wallowing in poverty n little developments (like got water pipe but no clean water coming out), but still continue 2 vote 4 UmnoB/BN n b UmnoB/BN’s SAFE DEPOSITS
Truly SAD n comical
Rozza Rothman’s complaint is about insults posted on Facebook (Sabah as a dirty State which is under developed and uncivilised with its people still living on trees) by a student believed to be from Peninsular Malaysia who is currently studying in Kota Kinabalu. Why complain about a young man who doesn’t know better about hurting others’ feelings but who was just posting his perception based on his observations about Sabah being undeveloped? Why blame NUID (just an agency) that couldn’t even bring integration within Semenanjung, much more between East and West Malaysians? Why not complain about the true culprits – the people in power in Peninsular or better still Sabah’s own politicians who in complicity with them have since 1963 kept Sabah undeveloped over 50 years? Sabah and Sarawak entered into the Malaysia Agreement 1963 based on the terms of a 20-point and 18-point agreement respectively. It was not conceived in such a union that Sabah (or for that matter Sarawak or S’pore since kicked out) would be treated as if it were just another state like (say) Johor or Negeri Sembilan; it was not conceived that resources from rich Sabah could be harnessed with so little given back in return. It was not conceived that immigrants from Philippines or Kalimantan could come in in such numbers to change the pop. and electoral equation. Who was responsible and should be blamed for this unhappy state of affairs in Sabah? Who unstintingly supported the Peninsula’s political establishment in 308 last??? The student should be the last to be blamed for just stating his observations.
There are no malayans in peninsular, only umnoputras the supreme supreme and dll (not dynamic link library (ok?) but “dan lain2”). So I think you’ve got that quite wrong, mr sabah sir. In fact you sabahans too are dlls just like us.
‘ “Probably 99 percent of Malaysians have not even heard of the very existence of the National Unity and Integration Department. ‘
Is it now overseen by Koh Tsu Goon? No wonder nothing is happening. Buta gaji. Good as non-existent.
‘…..comments saying Sabahans still live on trees…’.
Not quite true but you get the message. First the Brits came and exploited them. Then the Malayans can and colonised them and squeezed them dry. Then the illegals came in large numbers and forced them off their lands and livelihood. They might end up in trees soon. Plenty of fresh air up there. After all it is the ‘Land Below the Winds’.
‘….what monetary currency was used in Sabah….’.
Silly trick question. It is ‘Philippine peso’ or ‘Indonesian rupiah’ or ‘Pakistan rupee’, all of the above. The ringgit has got not much value there, high cost of living, inflation and so on, so people don’t have much confidence in it. Can’t buy much with it. Besides, it is colonial money.
“You people don’t have this (fish head curry) in Sabah”.
True. True. The native people there eat mainly cassavas and bananas now that they have become poorer. The new citizens prefer adobo, lechon, lancit, bakso, bakmi or gado-gado. Musa Aman likes his kebabs and naan. Besides, the fish in Sabah have no heads as they have been fish-bombed. Would you eat their heads if you found them? Tastes like C4.
‘…timidity and cowardice of our members of Parliament who act like wet mice in Kuala Lumpur, bowing and smiling to the Malayans as if to admit they are actually less civilised….’.
How Correct. Correct. Correct. As is aptly demonstrated by that creature from the interior Kinabatangan, Bung Mokhtar. He just loves to perform for the Malayans and everybody else in Parliament, for free. He leaks regularly, poor bladder control.
‘…They need to shout in Parliament every now and then….’.
Part of the ‘show’. See above.
‘….Sabah, the producer of this precious black gold is mired in poverty, having terribly bad roads…’.
If you have to live on trees why do you need roads? Just do ‘Tarzan’ to get about.
‘…someone need to make a police report on the gigantic failure of the Nuid…’.
You are kidding, right? NFA is the common work ethic. Don’t mess up police statistics. It is bad already. Besides, how and why do you take action on something that is already ‘dead’ and forgotten ? Waste of time. NFA. Case closed.
‘…. why it is not taking any action against those causing racial and religious disunity..’.
Hey. EPL just started. Isn’t football a religion? They are seriously watching this matter very, very closely. You can bet on it.
”….especially people like Ibrahim Ali….’.
He has to be in this somehow. Can’t leave him out can we? He is the reason why NUID ‘exists’ and have a big budget to monitor people like him. They need more TVs to watch EPL.
‘….Nuid should be closed down to save precious money…’.
Hey. Their dormant redundant employees need their monthly salaries, pensions, bonuses, duit raya, FR1M, BR1M, BROOM, VROOM, VIM and what-nots to survive in these difficult times. They have extended families too you know. You want to break their rice-bowls?
‘….penalise it for decades of failure…’.
‘Janji di-Tepi-kan’, UMNO politicians might say.
Singh is probably right. I certainly hv not heard of the wat? unity thingy.