I am sick of Sarawakian Chong Chieng Jen, the MP for Bandar Kuching. After 43 years of being Malaysian, he still considers Malaysians from other states of our nation as FOREIGNERS.
Recently he criticised the authorities for recruiting ‘foreigners’ to man 200 immigration officer posts in Sarawak. He was annoyed that only 18 locals were part of the 200.
A senior academic from Peninsular Malaysia attached to a Kuching-based university told Malaysiakini:
“If we took this myopic view of things, thousands of Sarawakians in Peninsular Malaysia would have to come home (to fill up the positions) and end up being unemployed since there is insufficient work for them here.”
“Now, what special qualification does being born Sarawakian endow an individual to man immigration counters? By extension, does this mean that if any similar job needs to be done in KL, Penang, Johor or Sabah, we only employ non-Sarawakians?”
West Malaysian a "foreigner" in Sarawak?
ReplyDeleteYes and No!
Yes, because there actually is a rule where West Malaysian can stay at Sarawak only as 3 months? (since the forming of Malaysia)
Why? Because the Sarawak people(which have a wider demographic than West Malaysia)doesn't want the bumiputras(west) to come and claim on land where they did not work and sweat for and born and bred in.
No, because Sarawakian(and Sabahan) feel more alienated in Malaysia(yes! more than West Malaysian)
Why? Only 5% are royalty paids to our(one big Sarawak state)people from oil & gas from Miri.(I am a Mirian, how much do you think we(Miri district) get?)God knows that we need the money for our education, our infrastructure)
Why? Sarawakian, Sabahan, and Terenganu people have to put up with the fact that the KLCC is KL!
Why? Because West Malaysian kept ASKING THAT WHETHER OR NOT WE STILL LIVE ON TREES? DO WE HAVE CLEAN DRINKABLE WATER? ETC....
Wait did I go out of Context? Yes ......AND NO! The MP of Bandar Kuching is just trying to get local people to manage Sarawak owns state affairs. Either than that, we still are the obedient bunch that contributes to the Malaysian development through our mass volume of natural resources(timber, oil, gas, pepper(heheheh)....
A lot of angry angst?
YES!
Well, certainly thank you for your kind thoughts!
ReplyDeleteBut you're expressing precisely the same parochial feelings that Chong Chieng Jen has expressed.
How many Sarawakians had, have and still are working in Peninsula Malaysia? I know of several. People here don't object to them as 'outsiders' or foreigners'.
The provisions to protect Sarawakians were for the earlier days. It's now 43 years later on. Strange that many Sarawakians (non Bumiputras) have often expressed that the NEP should go, yet they are the first to insist on Sarawkians before Malaysians.
As for the 5% royalty paid, that's the max that every state, not just Sarawak, gets (except those screwed by the BN government, where then they get zero, but that's political rather than legal or official). There's stuff like Defence which costs lots of ringgit, which incidentally reminds me of many Peninsula Malaysians who died fighting the Indonesians and CTs in the jungles of Sarawak.
And the reason some Sarawakians feel alienated is because they want to be aliens vis-a-vis Malaysia. After all these years I know that many schoolchildren in Sarawak can't even speak Bahasa Malaysia. I know of several Sarawakian university graduates in Australia who can't even utter a word of BM, and I am not talking about the more elderly generation - these are young people in their early twenties. Makes you wonder - oh, BTW, I am a Chinese Malaysian from Penang.
Sorry, can't help you there with the trees & clean water stuff - I grew up on well water and live among many trees. ;-) I don't feel in the bit insulted or underconfident if others ribbed me on these humble beginnings.
I,The angry angst guy from before being humble by your come back debate:
ReplyDeleteI do share the parochial feelings of Chong Cheng Jen. The reasons as I have stated before WE GOT SCREWED(and I still stand by it, I am stubborn that way ), but in exchanged we got what we wanted which is to control people allowed in our state.
Truth to the matter is, I as a Sarawakian are afraid of the culture west Malaysian brings(not just Malays, even Chinese and Indians)
Why?(AGAIN?)I was shock at the racism when I came to study in Peninsular Malaysia at a local U(hence the simplistic english which everybody likes to blame!) I made two race of friends, the chinese and malays. When the chinese say something bad about the malays, I defended them, vice versa(seriously I do have friends of the two race mentioned).
The situation in Sarawak are much more different. Deciding which language to use when making friends was the only problem making friends there. There wasn't a consideration of race,face,religion when making friends.(There's bumiputras that can speak chinese, there's chinese that can speak iban,bidayuh....., almost all know bahasa melayu sarawak)
Regretably, the Sarawakian university graduates you mentioned are the shielded kind. They are taught that BM is a language to pass exam and english equals superiority, they are not taught that BM can as a communicaton tool with all our Malaysia's brothers.
Since you are speaking freely on your what your race is, consider mine.
I am proudly of Chinese/Iban descendants, I maintain great relationship on both side of the family, I speak chinese(mandarin, hokkien),the iban language, BM, and the informal bahasa melayu sarawak.
Do you see what I am getting at?
I hated when UMNO was establish in Sabah, I hated when DAP and PAS campaign in the recent election in Sarawak. Because they bring race-based politics. yes, there are race-based party in sarawak. But when you mention bumiputra in Sarawak, a lot of indigenous bumiputras race is conjuncture up in the mind rather than the Malays.
Maybe I am too narrow minded, but the heart is true when thinking the place that I grew up.
Do you think that the new immigration officer would think like sarawakian in general when in Sarawak? or still smirks at other race than theirs?...I hope they do the right thing.
And about the drinkable water, living on a tree things , have a nice laugh from the link I found below:
http://marg.blogs.friendster.com/mars_blog/2005/07/stupidity_maxim.html
http://marg.blogs.friendster.com/mars_blog/2005/12/ignorance_and_s.html
my new postng specially for you ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhat DAP's Lim KIt Siang stand about this? He have been very quite about it in his blog? whay?
ReplyDeleteas person from the small independent negihbouring country whose leader disagreed to join the
ReplyDelete'Federation' due to the unfair oil revenue distribution just felt that Sarawak and Sabah have more things in common with the small independent negihbouring country than the peninsula.. just wish that the sufferings can be ended by any means possible...
hmm..silly and emotional comments while trying to talk about politics..referring to hidden identity..post-independence generation like us should be more active not talkative..talking and talking..very annoying me..seems that ur not living in the real world as those who has been experiencing life outside the country is thankful to have peace and tranquility here.Luckily I'm one of them..
ReplyDeletePerhaps, ISA shall shut ur emotions or expel to another country which I think Africa shall suit ur taste..
helo
ReplyDeleteim from kuching sarawak n currently studying in peninsular msia.
honestly, i hated it here
i do not feel like i am a malaysian
what walaysian??
what multiracial country?
everything is MELAYU CINA INDIA
MELAYU CINA INDIA...
N WHAT THE HELL AM I?
JUST A 'LAIN-LAIN' I think there should be no more bullshit about Bumiputre n non-bumiputra status...
as you can see....we... (natives) are and will always be a lain-lain...
hwat the heck..
when sarawak n sabah joined malaysia, we were promised a lot of rubbish... if only our ancestors were a bit smarter to not be fooled...
i bet we won't be like what we are now...
i have been to west malaysia lots of time. and each time i came, i was showered by insults...
"naik sini guna apa?" eh..bodoh ka? naik kapal terbang la... nak naik apa? perahu tambang? kapal selam?
"org sarawak tinggal kat pokok ka?"
eh...bakayaro.. kuching is much more prosperous than perak, perlis, kedah..have you seen those states? they look like pasar serian...
shower us with insults....all you like...
think of the fact...that sarawak has contributed a lot.
anf fuck all the west malaysians who work in sarawak. you bring us nothing but trouble.
datang sarawak just to ganggu our peace n prosperity..just because all you do in west malaysia is bicker bicker bicker... melayu lagi bagus cina lagi bagus india lagi bagus. Your mentality sucks
Dont come to work in sarawak just for the high allowance...the semenanjung teachers come for money, they don't teach.
immigration? 3 months only? hey, that is our HAK which is stated in the PERLEMBAGAAN MALAYSIA..
DONT YOU DARE MES WITH THAT..
whatever the whatever...
i propose that Sarawak leave Malaysia...
Sarawak will be a better COUNTRY on its own...
don't forget perlembagaan sarawak.
ReplyDeletei'm a sarawakian malay but i don't agree with ketuanan melayu concept. it is just so umno-centric. when it comes to political survival, then we would be the centre of the universe but when it is achieved, we are back in the black hole. historically, during brooke era sarawak independency was recognized by France and USA. British Empire considered Sarawak as Protectrate and not a Crown Colony. In 1947, when Sarawak became Crown Colony people opposed it. Malays are here not too overprotective of BM and no fuss of talking english with other races, it is a norm. but we are protective of our sarawakian malay language. but we never force other races to learn it. it comes naturally, when you working in an Iban majority, like it or not , you have to learn the language. so what's the fuss.
i did read an article on James wong in borneo post last month and he said that Sarawak was broke and immatured when it comes to politic and that is why we need to form Malaysia. I beg to differ, we maybe broke but we are not immatured in politic...our leaders should have perkara 100 not perkara 20. after 45 years, what do we get? the spring? and stop bragging about racial supremacy. it is just so dumb. cheers.........