It’s poll day in Sarawak today (tag). Today is one of the few days when people of Sarawak are able to directly affect the state’s policies. Because it’s poll day today, I feel I need to address a minor point that affects the relationship between people in Peninsular Malaysia and those in Malaysian Borneo. That one minor point concerns scapegoating.
There are people in both Sabah and Sarawak that blame those in the Peninsula of hoarding the Federation’s resources. This group of people argue that resources originated from eastern Malaysia are brought over to West Malaysia while the locals receive less than an equitable share. It seems that this opinion is part of a greater idea that the Malaysian Federation is biased towards Malaya.
This is something that is hard to counter given that most Peninsular Malaysians see August 31 as a grander date compared to September 16. The former is the date Malaya and Sabah (formerly North Borneo) achieved independence while the latter is the date of the Federation formation. This fact symbolically affirms the feeling that the Federation is biased towards its western members.
For a strong federation, all members need to be treated equally so that there’s no ill-feeling among member states. Hence, I do sympathize with those that subscribe to the opinion that the Federation is biased. However, I’m beginning to feel that Malaysians on the Peninsula are becoming the group’s whipping boy. This group is indiscriminating blaming everything on Peninsular Malaysians. It’s becoming apparent that these Malaysians from Sabah and Sarawak aren’t interested in solving the problem of inequity but rather, are more interested in assigning blames.
Why do I feel so?
Simple. They point their finger across the South China Sea but yet, they keep voting the same persons or parties into office over and over again. These persons in the office aren’t standing up for Sabah and Sarawak’s rights and yet, they’re kept being voted in.
The options are in front of them and hence, they have the power to change the situation. When they failed to choose the candidates that would fight for them, it’s not others’ – those in the Peninsula – fault. When you aren’t willing to commit changes and then you’re suffering from it, don’t blame others for it.
So, if you are reading this and you’re able to vote in Sarawak today, before casting your ballot, bare this in mind. Your future is in your hands and you’re responsible for it; no one else. Failure to do good with your future will be your own fault; no one else.
p/s – the Great Firewall of MENJ! For those that are unfamiliar with the nick MENJ, he’s a far-right conservative Muslim. And I’m being polite by labelling him that.
However, unlike the Great Firewall of China which could be imagined as a huge virtual Great Wall of China, the MENJ’s is a human-size box around a person. And unlike the Great Firewall of China which discriminately prevents PRC citizens from visiting certain sites on the net, the MENJ’s indiscriminately prevents everybody from visiting his blog. Well, so far, just visitors from Malaysia, Scotland and Australia, according to comments at Bebas; I wonder if he could even visit his own blog! Self-ban!
His blog must be experiencing a drop in visitors. LOL!
I don’t know this MENJ guy personally but I have a feeling that I won’t like him too much. He just has a talent to insult a lot of people online. In fact, I remember him calling me a moron via a third person just because I disagree with him. But, that’s not really surprising because he calls all Muslims that disagree with him as infidels.
This is an occasion that MENJ shot himself in the foot, again. I praise minishorts for getting the snowball rolling in MENJ’s direction. I hope the ball’s inertia is unstoppable.
Heh. Singapore has Xiaxue. Malaysia has MENJ. They should get together.