BRAINWASHED BY UMNO: What orang Malaya don’t understand

The gulf between Peninsular Malaysia and the so-called east Malaysia extends beyond the 1,200km of South China Sea waters separating them. Beyond this span lies a much more significant detachment, with Sabahans and Sarawakians having a value system far removed from that of their peninsular counterparts.

What is deemed crucial to Peninsular Malaysians may be of lesser importance to those in the east as their priorities are different. Similarly, what our fellow citizens in the two Borneo states cherish most may not be our first concern.

Of all the political and social predilections shown by Peninsular Malaysians or orang Malaya, the most peculiar to them is the emphasis placed on race and religion. While racists exist on both sides of the South China Sea, the more vocal and prominent of them are on the shores of the peninsula.

It is common to find households with multiple faiths and of different ethnicities living under one roof.  With the extended family structure very much still in place, we have grandparents who tend to their grandchildren of different faiths.

In Sarawak, there are Christian Dayak grandparents who look after Muslim Malay or Melanau grandchildren, and ensure that their religious beliefs are adhered to. In caring and cooking for their Muslim grandchildren, they ensure that the food they provide is halal and the love they give is pure and straight from the heart.

There is no fear of grandparents trying to convert their grandchildren because family is more important than the religion they profess. In any case, Christians and Muslims in Sabah and Sarawak pray to Allah, which puzzles them that there is a tussle over the use of the word in Peninsular Malaysia.

Imagine their shock when we talk about different trolleys for our supermarkets and demand that some churches bring down their cross.

Likewise, many orang Malaya were aghast when Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem declared that the state would adopt English, along with Bahasa Malaysia as the preferred official language of the state administration.

Social and cultural affairs adviser, Tan Sri Rais Yatim, warned that the move could sow discord among the people, saying Adenan should “safeguard unity between the peninsula and East Malaysia”.

Former federal minister Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir urged the Sarawak government to re-consider its decision as “Bahasa Malaysia should remain firmly the sole language to unite our different races into Bangsa Malaysia”.

Perhaps, they should explain how the use of English and not the practice of racial pandering by Umno would be a hindrance to that goal. Sarawakians are so appalled by the divisive ways of the dominant party in the country that they openly declare that there is no place for this brand of politics in the Land of the Hornbills.

The objections raised by politicians and activists against Sarawak’s English move are borne out of fear that the national language would be sidelined. They failed to recognise that Sarawakians have no doubts that Bahasa Malaysia would keep its rightful place as the national language.

Their confidence in this is similar to the trust they have in themselves not to proselytise each other. Whether we are from the west or the east, we were very much the same people in one country and with a shared dream.

How did the dominant race in this country end up being fearful of losing control and becoming powerless “like the Red Indians who are only left with history, or the Maori who have a museum and the name, but no power?” Or is this merely a political persuasion? - http://theheatonline.asia/