We must sink or swim together. When I’m in trouble, you help me, when you are in trouble, we help you. This is what the federation is all about.
– Former Sarawak chief minister Pehin Sri Adenan Satem
“Let us build a bridge. This bridge has no river running beneath it – it is the bridge of silaturahim (friendship). My presence here and that of my family and my entourage is to represent the people of Peninsular Malaysia.
“I am representing the Malay rulers here to extend our hand to all of you so we can be a family in our beloved Malaysia.
“Let there be no barrier (between us), a barrier only exists in China which is the Great Wall. There is no Great Wall here.
“Let us foster our friendship between the Borneo region and the Peninsular region. Let nothing restrict us. This is pertinent because for Malaysia, we need one another.”
Those were the words decreed by His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong during a dinner hosted by the Sarawak government in Kuching this week in line with the royal family’s Borneo tour.
Definitely, the remarks made by Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah will be etched in the history books highlighting the significance of 60 years of Malaysia’s formation.
As we celebrate Malaysia Day today, those words are ones to remember by as dissonance began to seep in the minds of the people of Malaysia brought about by disagreements on the direction of the country.
No doubt there has been many successes enjoyed by this nation of ours since its formation 60 years ago. We have braved many challenges even those that we previously deemed insurmountable.
The royal tour to visit the people of Borneo is a timely reminder of the need for people of Peninsular Malaysia to constantly touch base with Sarawakians and Sabahans.
In years prior to Malaysia’s formation, then Malaya’s prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj conducted diplomatic trips to Borneo to get to know the people.
The Malayan leaders then after the visit were apprehensive over the prospect of roping in Sarawak and Sabah (then North Borneo) as they found that the gap between the demographics in Malaya and Borneo was too wide.
The feeling was mutual by the people of Borneo as they too were apprehensive of the very intentions of Malaya and Tunku.
After an invite from Tunku for the Borneo leaders to visit Malaya, this changed. During the visit, Tunku’s deputy Tun Abdul Razak explained to the leaders the progress made since Malaya’s independence.
They were brought to tour Malaya to see the development that was made, the roads, the buildings and this convinced them. Members of legislative assemblies of the Borneo states gave the go-ahead to commence talks of Malaysia’s formation.
Despite that, 60 years on, the words of Malaysia’s founding father Tun Jugah Barieng rings in the minds of the people of Sarawak.
“Anang Malaysia baka tebu, manis dipun tabar di hujung” (Let’s hope that Malaysia will not end up like sugarcane, sweet in the beginning, but bland in the end).
No doubt while we enjoyed many successes, we had moments of bitterness given how the Borneo states were treated.
This resulted in certain uprisings due to imbalance of development as well as the central tendencies of the federal government being Malaya-centric.
There have been waves of disenchantment, even leading to calls of secession. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed.
His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s visit injected a new impetus to seek similarities rather than differences – that we, in this moment in time, need each other.
In a Malaysia that is reborn, concerted efforts need to be made by the leaders of Malaya to somehow ease feelings of discontent. One way is to ensure that the spirit of Malaysia’s formation, the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) is upheld.
The rights that belong to Sarawak and Sabah and what can be interpreted from the documents of Malaysia’s formation must be returned. They must have the political will to make good on these promises and do it in good faith.
National integration is something that has been bandied about for a long time but the question that arises is that has it ever materialised?
The trust and faith of the people of Borneo in Malaysia as they did 60 years ago must be kept. Engagements and consultations should be a norm rather than the exception.
There is no Malaysia without Sarawak and Sabah. We are together in this beloved country of ours. Let there be no feelings of apprehension any longer.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
