OUTSPOKEN: Some Malayans certainly have a strange way of looking at things Sarawak – certainly not in the Sarawak way.
Too many times they just fail to see things in the right perspective.
Just look at how they reacted to Sarawak making English an official language of the state alongside Bahasa Malaysia.
Some think making English on par with Bahasa Malaysia is an insult to the Federal Constitution, while there are those who became experts in Sarawak affairs overnight, that if you don’t know them, you would think they knew more about Sarawak and Sarawakians then Sarawakians know themselves!
Appalling attitude! The kind Sarawakians often refer to as the “colonialist mentality” – of people who think the world of themselves and consider others as lesser beings who need to be told what is good or bad for them.
This is the category which Perkasa, the Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) and the KL Malay Chamber of Commerce (DPMM) belong to.
These are Malay groups who think they have the moral right to dictate terms and decide what is wrong and right under the Malaysian sky.
When their terms are not met, or their decisions not adhered to, they cite the highest law in the country – the Constitution.
So Perkasa says Sarawak is insulting the Federal Constitution.
Of course, Perkasa knows that’s not the case. It is Perkasa that feels insulted. The Malays in Perkasa feel insulted because they are the ultra-Malays who are ultra-sensitive and whose raw nerves burn to kingdom come when anything to do with the Malays, Bahasa Malaysia included, comes not from them.
Sadly for Perkasa, Sarawak is not another Malayan state. It is one of the four original makers of this nation we call Malaysia.
Among these four nations – Sarawak, Sabah, Malaya and Singapore (the Lord was kind to Singapore, showed it the way out of the union and today it is in the world news for all the right reasons) – Sarawak is unique in more ways than one.
Whether in culture, politics or social make-up, Sarawak is in many ways different from Malaya and Sabah.
Sarawak has a rather long and rich history of using English as the official language of the state, as such when it was decided to replace it with BM, all that needs to be done is compare ourselves to our neighbours Singapore and Brunei.
From there, we just have to admit, dropping English was a bad mistake, and the most logical thing to do is, be brave and revert.
“This decision will only push more people away,” claimed DPMM honorary secretary Aslah Abdullah.
But push more people away to where? And what people?
Perkasa, like MTEM and DPMM, are Malayan instruments. They may be powerful in Malaya. They may strike fear among the state governments of the menteri besar. They might even cause Prime Minister Najib Razak many sleepless nights with their demands and expectations.
But in Sarawak? Be it Perkasa, or MTEM or DPMM, they never helped to build our roads, schools hospitals and clinics.
Perkasa, MTEM and DPMM never helped rebuild burnt longhouses, set up libraries and kindergartens in the villages, donate to churches and temples, or hold seminars and dialogues to empower rural Sarawakians to be economically and socially competitive.
These ultra-Malay groups have done nothing meaningful for Sarawakians. In fact, since Perkasa came into being, all it did was act righteous and become the guardian of many things Islam and Malay.
In truth, they know next to nothing about the state and its people, but because they enjoy the kind of attention accorded them by fellow Malayans, they think Sarawakians are fair game.
Is there any logic for Sarawakians to listen to these groups that speak like as if we owe them our very existence?
They, who think Sarawakians wear the chawat (loincloth) and still live on trees, for what reason must we let them tell us what is right or wrong in the way we do things or as to the policies we embark upon?
“There has never been any language barrier. Why try to change? Everyone already speaks Bahasa Malaysia, from city folk to people in the kampung (villages). Iban and Kadazan people also speak Bahasa Malaysia as well,” Aslah was quoted as saying.
Indeed, among us Sarawakians, we do not have problem communicating in BM. Our problem is communicating in the language of science, technology, and international business and trade, which is English; not BM.
We have no problem communicating with Malayans, too. BM is not such a difficult subject to speak or write in. Be it Ibans or Bidayuhs or Orang Ulu – the Dayak, for short – communicating in BM has never posed a problem. When the situation requires it, we will communicate in BM.
It should be an eye-opener to MTEM and DPMM that far from creating the “unnecessary discomfort among the rural folk who converse more fluently in BM”, English will help bring Sarawakians closer.
Honestly, Sarawakians love speaking English – right from the years of the White Rajahs.
“The use of language that is different from their day-to-day conversation would turn them away,” said MTEM CEO Mohd Nizam Mahshar.
But Mohd Nizam is completely off target there. Sarawakians don’t speak BM in their day-to-day conversation.
Unlike Malayans, Sarawakians don’t communicate in BM in all situations and at all times. No, and that’s because we are not Malayans whose everyday language is Bahasa Malaysia.
Sarawakians’ everyday language is the local Malay, or Melayu Sarawak, or jaku laut to the Ibans, interspersed with every other local language as per locality and situation, plus English. This is especially true in the urban and sub-urban areas.
It has been the trend for years that Iban families in the towns speak a rich mix of Iban and jaku laut.
In fact, in not few cases, Iban families speak more jaku laut than Iban. It is pretty much the same among the Bidayuh and the Orang Ulu.
Are Dayaks worried they will soon lose their languages? Or are the Malays worried because their children are not speaking in “true, authentic” jaku laut?
I have yet to hear anything to that effect and I believe it is because Sarawakians know there is and will be enough time and space for all the languages to grow as natural as they should.
Today, Sarawakians’ only weakness is reaching out to the global world, and the way there is English language.
And that’s the reason why Chief Minister Adenan Satem has decided once and for all that English, along with Bahasa Malaysia, is the official language of Sarawak.
By now, non-Sarawakian Malaysians should know and readily admit that Sarawak’s English language policy is perfectly legal.
It has been said many times already, even Adenan has said it – that when the Federation of Malaysia was formed in1963, one of the conditions for Sarawak and Sabah was that English would be used as an official language besides Bahasa Malaysia.
Sabah, however, gave up that right in 1971 when it signed an ordinance to use only Bahasa Malaysia in official correspondence.
“We never signed such an agreement after the formation of Malaysia. English can be used as our official language alongside Bahasa Malaysia in Sarawak. There is also nothing wrong in using more than one official language,” Adenan was recently quoted.
What can be clearer? There is no need for any more polemics on the issue, Sarawak has decided and Sarawakians have all agreed.
Our reason is more economic than political, and we are confident we are going in the right direction – a direction that many leading economies of the world are taking.-The Ant Daily
