Fed govt must be genuinely inclusive

According to former Sabah state secretary Simon Sipaun, only when Malaysia came about did Ketuanan Melayu, racial and religious bigotry infiltrate Sabah and the nation.

KOTA KINABALU: For Simon Sipaun, 75, September 16, 1963 means little other than being the date of the formation of Malaysia.

For him the date could almost be a blemish.

“I feel disappointed that it took the federal government 46 years just to accept and acknowledge 16 Sept, 1963 as Malaysia Day.

“For 46 years 16 Sept passed by like any ordinary day.

“The focus of national attention is on 31st of August which is the independence day of Malaya. This year is only the fourth time in 50 years that Malaysia Day is being observed,” the former state secretary said with a hint of exasperation.

These days Sipaun, a civil servant who entered government service in January 1962 and retired in 1993, keeps up a hectic schedule of public service, throwing himself into various activities.

Apart from founding and chairing the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights or Proham, Sipaun gives talks, serves as the deputy chairman of the Outward Bound School and is a member of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Advisory Board.

Prior to 2010, Sept 16 was observed as the official birthday of the Sabah head of state, the governor, and was a state holiday.

His birthday has since been changed to the first Saturday of October with effect from 2010.

At the time Sipaun when asked by reporters if he was happy the date was finally acknowledged by the federal government as Malaysia Day, he said  “it was 46 years too late”.

“Looking back now,” he said sardonically, “it’s better late than never.”

Ketuanan Melayu, an apartheid system

In an interview recently, he spoke candidly about the twisted and difficult relationship the former British colony has experienced over the last 50 years.

“16th Sept 1963, also reminds me that North Borneo lost its only opportunity to experience being a truly independent and sovereign nation able to determine its own destiny and with a separate seat in the United Nations.

“So in a way to me I feel somewhat sad in the sense that North Borneo never existed as a separate country,” he said, reflecting on how power over North Borneo was basically just transferred from Britain to Malaya.

For him life in the British colony was pleasant, safe and peaceful.

“I admit there was no development as we see today. But in my view, North Borneo was not alone (in this). Malaya and Singapore were at that time not that well developed either.”

A welcome trade-off was “no fear of being arrested without trial because there were no draconian laws such as the once dreaded ISA (Internal Security Act) and the emergency ordinance legislation”.

The idea of a social hierarchy or ‘Ketuanan Malayu’ (Malay supremacy) did not exist, he adds even though a class structure did exist with the colonial masters being addressed as “tuan”.

“But they did not demand we call them ‘tuan’. We voluntarily called them tuan. Now it’s a different story.

“Why should I call another community tuan? I don’t see why. There was no such thing in North Borneo.

“Only when Malaysia came did we have this so called Ketuanan Melayu. I don’t believe that one community should have supremacy over other communities.

“It is very much similar to the apartheid system in South Africa, the Nazi Germany and thankfully those two regimes eventually collapsed.”

Racial and religious bigotry

Sipaun also criticised the way racial and religious problems crept into Sabah as Malayanisation took hold.

“The word Allah was never an issue. There was no quarrelling and dispute over dead bodies. Religion was basically between god and his creation … between man and god, inter-marriages was very common, race relations were excellent to say the least.

“That is why you find in Sabah so many people are the product of inter-marriages and I think this is good. It brings about good relationship within the communities,” he explains.

Pointing out that meritocracy was observed in North Borneo, he shakes his head when he compares a civil service that was once multi-racial and reflective of the racial makeup of the society and now when it is “dominated by just one particular race”.

This trend, he says, is causing the Malaysian community to become polarised and the people of Sabah now also have to contend with marginalisation and discrimination because of their race or religion unlike before 1963.

Sipaun also unfavourably compared the efficiency of British governance with that of Malaysia’s national leaders who took over their role.

A stark example is the handling of one of the most significant events in Sabah – the presence of the unusually large number of illegal immigrants who many believe were part of a clandestine federal government operation to ensure Muslim dominance in the state in all fields.

“There were no illegal immigrants then (during the days of North Borneo) at least to the extent that we have now where in my view foreigners have outnumbered Malaysians of Sabah origin. Native laws, customs, native rights were respected. You didn’t have natives displaced from their traditional territories.

“These people have permanently changed the economic, the social, the cultural, political and the demographic landscape of Sabah. The problems associated with these issues are often referred to as the mother of all problems in the state,” he pointed out.

It is alleged and perceived by a lot of Sabahans that hundreds of thousands of these people were granted citizenship and the right to vote merely for political reasons.

It is estimated that the Suluk community alone now number well over 800,000. No indigenous ethnic community in Sabah is anywhere near that number.

Ugly incidents

Another memorable event during the last 50 years is when the Christian-led Parti Bersatu Sabah party led by Joseph Pairin Kitingan won the state election first in 1985 and then in 1986.

Hundreds of foreigners took to the streets in Kota Kinabalu to demonstrate against the state government. It was followed by rioting and a handful of people lost their lives.

It was alleged that illegal immigrants were used to destabilise the new state government.

Sipaun recollects another ugly incident that marred Sabah and further sullied the stature of the federal government.

“Between 4:30 and 5am on April 22, 1985, Tun Mustapha (Harun) was sworn in as the chief minister despite the fact that he did not win the state general elections and despite the objections of High Court judge and also the state AG advising against it.

“This was what I call democracy Sabah style. Whoever reached the Istana first gets sworn in as chief minister. The oath taking ceremony took place even before the results of the general election were officially announced.

Later the same day the governor after being informed that acting prime minister Tun Musa Hitam had announced that the voice of the people of Sabah should be respected revoked the appointment of Tun Mustapha as chief minister at about 8pm the same day.

Tun Mustapha was Sabah chief minister for less than 24 hours. The shortest in the history of Sabah, Sipaun notes.

Adding to the litany of grievances, Sipaun mentions how several years ago he made a statement to say that Sabah was experiencing a reverse takeover in view of foreigners outnumbering Malaysians in Sabah.

His fears were proved even more prescient this year by an invasion by a heavily armed group of foreigners at Kampong Tanduo in Lahad Datu on Feb 9.

This was a direct invasion of Malaysia and a direct attempt to takeover Sabah by foreigners and there were several fatalities on both sides.

“So you have what I call reverse takeover on one hand followed by an attempted takeover on the other. They came in by the backdoor and then direct. So this is a big security risk for the state. You can see how risky it is for Sabah. Very unusual events.

“Why I consider these significant events is because what is impossible elsewhere is possible in Sabah,” said Sipaun.

Sabahans helpless onlookers

He believes there is very little that the ordinary Sabahans can do except be helpless onlookers and suffer in silence as “most if not all these unpleasant events were cause or triggered by leaders who are in the position of influence and authority”.

“Even the state government, for example, when it comes to the illegal immigrants, is unable to do very much towards resolving the problem.

“Why? Because it does not have the power and the financial and physical capacity that the federal government has.

“Malaysia may be a federal system of government (but) in my view it is only federal in form but very much unitary in substance. State governments are essentially left with local government, land and forestry matters,” he noted.

Sipaun also fears that political leaders both at the federal and state levels are playing with fire when dealing the racial and the religious cards to boost their political strength.

By playing the racial and religious cards, he said, they are endangering the country when they should be speaking up for all Malaysians irrespective of race or religion.

“I see myself as a Malaysian, full stop. I am not pro-government, I am not pro-opposition. I am not pro anybody. I am just pro good governance. Governance means that a government does not abuse power. They should be governing as trustees of the people.

However, he does see some hope for a united Malaysia when he noted that there are “more and more Malay writers, Malay personalities, Malay figures, who are pro good governance”.

“They are also against any cruelty and racial discrimination. This group, I notice, usually comes from the younger generation. They are more informed, more Internet savvy, more educated and exposed to international affairs.

“They look at fellow human beings not in terms of their race or in terms of their religion. This is a very good development.”

The increasing clamour by younger Malays to see government assistance distributed based on real needs is also a positive trend, he said.

“If you are poor you are poor. Government assistance should not be based on your religion or on your race but based on your real needs.

“I mention Malays because to realise a change, Malaysia needs the support, understanding and the cooperation of the Malays because they happen to be the majority population in the country.

“Whether we like it or not, Sabah is already part of Malaysia. It is not possible to know with certainty what the future is going to be like.

“The present has been very much shaped by the past. What we did in the past affects the present. And the future will be affected as well by what we do today and what we plan today.”

Be genuinely inclusive

Sipaun believes that Sabah still has a good future within Malaysia provided the government practices good governance and inclusive development.

“Don’t exclude people or communities. Inclusiveness implies the treatment of every citizen equally and without exception. Inclusive development makes the citizens feel that the government cares for them.”

The question that the government must ask right now, he said  is whether citizens feel that the government really cares for them.

An indicator is the results of the last general elections. The combined votes of those who wanted to see change of government amounted to 5.82 million compared with 5.24 million who preferred to maintain the status quo and see the present government continue.

However, while this suits the government of the day, he said, they must acknowledge that under the electoral boundaries, the 5.24 million who voted for the government to continue, they were rewarded with 133 parliamentary seats.

Whereas the 5.82 million who voted for change were rewarded with only 89 parliamentary seats.

Such representation is lopsided and “not fair” as the government formed represents a minority whereas in a democratic system the government is usually associated with a majority.

“We have now a government representing the minority,” he notes but is also confident of the emergence of a more democratic political system which can help move the country away from politics dominated by race and religion.

“These are good developments. Some political parties now have multi-racial membership.

All these represent a move in the right direction, represent positive developments and will go a long way towards a better future for Malaysia. A better future for Malaysia will also mean a better future for Sabah.

“I believe the word ‘Sabah’ is an Arabic word which means ‘dawn’ … the time just before sunrise.

“It’s already getting brighter but you still don’t see the sun,” he stops and smiles to indicate the interview is over.