Learn from Sabah and Sarawak

It is heartening to note that the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has urged Malaysians to learn from their "humble brothers and sisters" in east Malaysia. He said in the latest posting on his blog 1Malaysia on Tuesday that he believes that Malaysians have much to learn from "our eastern brothers and sisters".

That is true but do those from Peninsular Malaysia want or are willing to learn from their brethren across the South China Sea? The nearly fifty years of being a single entity has not brought the two sides closer together in all senses of the word of a united nation. Those from the peninsular more often than not still have the misconceived perception that they know best and those on the Borneo island are the ones that need to learn a thing or two about living in a multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnic society.

This perception is of course heightened by the economic disparity between the two even though it is the natural resources of the two states, Sabah and Sarawak that has contributed quite a huge chunk to our nation's prosperity all these years. The centralisation and concentration of power in the hands of those in the peninsular has also contributed to the uneven development still noticeable to the present day.

If anyone in the peninsular care to have a heart to heart talk with someone from Sabah or Sarawak, he will definitely notice the different world view of those from the two states. It does not matter who you talk to, but the openness and willingness to accept others is in their veins. There are some in the peninsular who have their hang-ups and chips on the shoulder over the issue of race and religion but it is almost non-existent in our eastern brothers and sisters.

It is now noticeable that prejudices has made its presence felt as reported in sporadic incidents in Sabah and Sarawak. Those who care to delve deeper into the cause would most probably find that the prejudices originated from the peninsular and is definitely not a home grown product.

We in the peninsular have lost that united feeling and the rot must stop now. The knowledge transfer should be reversed immediately as the benefits of accepting and accommodating those different from yourself far outweigh the perceived losses in adopting those traits.

Image from kamal-talksmalaysia