Sabah and Sarawak not "colonised" by Malaya

APRIL 7 — Some leaders and NGOs claim that Sabah and Sarawak are colonised by “Malaya”. Malaya here refers loosely to the federal government (or people from Peninsular Malaysia). 

The general definition of “colonisation” is “the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area” or “the action of appropriating a place or domain for one’s own use.” 

Sabah and Sarawak are said to be colonised by Malaya by way of Malaya’s “political domination” and “control” in East Malaysia. Some also equate Sabah and Sarawak with the situation when they were under British colonisation. 

Is it true that Sabah and Sarawak are colonised by Malaya? 

It cannot be denied that in certain aspects, there is a tendency by the federal government to centralise power. This has been amply recorded in various academic literatures. 

But centralisation of power and colonisation are completely two different things. To say that Sabah and Sarawak were “colonised” by Malaya and that Malaya should be solely blamed for Sabah and Sarawak's underdevelopment is an understatement and misleading. 

At a personal level, I can say that Sabahans and Sarawakians are not colonised by Malaya as they are capable of standing on their own feet and of charting the future of their respective states.  

Let me draw an example from personal experience. I come from the native of Lundayeh in Sipitang, Sabah. My community is so small that no one – yes, even in Sabah! – know who the Lundayehs are and where they come from. 

Those days, most of the Lundayehs were subsistence farmers and had to struggle to make ends meet. Both of my parents did not have permanent jobs so I did not expect that I would be able to make it to university due to the lack of money. 

However, I was glad that I was taught the values of hard work, importance of education, and determination in pursuing one’s life endeavour. 

So, with little financial resources, I embarked on a lifetime journey to Kota Kinabalu to attend secondary school and to Peninsular Malaysia to attend university. Gladly, I received a full scholarship from Malaya (read: the federal government). 

Throughout my university days, I saw hundreds, if not more, of Sabahan and Sarawakian students coming in droves to Peninsular Malaysia on federal government scholarships. After having successfully completed my tertiary education and now serving in one of the public universities in Sarawak, I can proudly say that Sabahans and Sarawakians are as capable as their Malayan counterparts. How can they be colonised if many have returned to Sabah and Sarawak to serve in various state and federal agencies? 

No, Sabah and Sarawak are not colonised by Malaya. Here is more evidence. There are 13 full ministers from Sabah and Sarawak in the federal Cabinet. Some of them hold important portfolios such as foreign affairs, rural development, and transport. 

If my calculation is correct, there are seven more Sabahan and Sarawakian deputy federal ministers. To say that Sabah and Sarawak are colonised when more than 30 per cent of the Cabinet members are from Sabah and Sarawak is unfathomable.  

In the Dewan Rakyat, there are more than 50 Sabahan and Sarawakian lawmakers, or more than 25 per cent of the 222 members of the august house. The Borneo Post recently reported that Sabah and Sarawak issues have gained prominence in the recent Parliamentary sitting.

There are also more Sabahan and Sarawakian holding important posts in state federal agencies. Two of the public universities in Sabah and Sarawak are headed by Sabahan and Sarawakian. I could go on and on to prove that Sabah and Sarawak are not colonised by Malaya and are in a better position now to chart the future of Malaysia together.  

So, to continue to say that Sabah and Sarawak are colonised by Malaya is akin to disregarding the capability of Sabahans and Sarawakians to think and to act independently in developing their respective states. People who continue to claim that Sabah and Sarawak are a colony of Malaya are also sending a wrong message to the young generation.  

Sabah and Sarawak cannot be colonised by Malaya under the present circumstance in which they hold the key for the ruling BN’s survival. In fact, compared to other states in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak are granted more rights and privileges, which are protected by the Federal Constitution. 

So, how can it be possible for Sabah and Sarawak to be a colony of Malaya when the Federal Constitution gives Sabah and Sarawak special power to govern according to their own accord? If Sabah and Sarawak continue to be underdeveloped, they cannot continue to blame Malaya, as they are given greater role and more opportunities to participate in national development than before.   

People who say that Sabah and Sarawak are colonised by Malaya should come up with a better argument to improve Sabah’s and Sarawak’s position in the federation. The way I see it, it is a matter of people in Sabah and Sarawak not enjoying the benefits of the various pragmatic policies introduced by the federal government due to lack of implementation and bad leadership at the federal and state levels. It is time to rectify this mistake so that the present and future generation of Malaysians in Sabah and Sarawak can fully reap the benefits of the Federation of Malaysia. 

* Dr Arnold Puyok is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences, UNIMAS & Senior Fellow of the Society Empowerment & Economic Development of Sabah (SEEDS)

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/what-you-think/article/sabah-and-sarawak-are-not-colonised-by-malaya-arnold-puyok#sthash.0ymo8RXQ.dpuf