9 Comments »

1. Erna said:

   on December 17, 2005 at 5:29 pm

   Sigh.

   I’m a Sabah bumi and I say her take’s skewed and limited. Sabah is the poorest state in Malaysia but we are more relaxed in our regulations than Sarawak. Already commented in her blog. I just say, unless you’ve lived there for a year or so, you won’t really understand how things work.

   Sabah bumis are not pampered. We’ll laugh in your face if you say so.
   Sabahans are simple people, used to having nothing and content with having nothing. Unambitious and much too welcoming, which is why our natural resources have been plundered to fund development in West Malaysia.

   Despite the injustices, we don’t fight. Or complain. It’s our weakness to just sit back, shake our heads and say:

   “Ndak apa bah.” - Never mind.

   Because most of us believe in God and that the world is just a temporary place, until we return to the arms of the one who made us. And whatever your friend says, Sabahans know what tolerance is. We don’t give a shit what your religion and race is…all we ask if we meet someone new is: “Makan babi, ndak (tak) makan babi?” - so easy if we want to take them yamcha.

   admin: i suppose my friend had not thought about it like that, her disappointment is understandable as she is losing out to her sabahan peers due to the unfair competition at this moment. ultimately, i still believe that everyone should be given an equal opportunity eventhough certain groups may have been treated unfairly in the past. i dont think my friend was blaming sabahans (in fact, i think she adores their humility), she was blaming the state.

2. eyeris said:

   on December 18, 2005 at 2:32 am

   some of the happiest Malaysians I’ve met are those in East Malaysia, Sabah AND Sarawak. They complain less than West Malaysians, and they are so much more open than us more ‘modern’ Malaysians.

   Go figure.

   admin: well, I think you meant the KLites right? i believe most west malaysians are not fussy too- case in point, my family from less developed town like Mentakab are some happy lot. all they need are their bicycles, bubblegums and the occasional trip to Genting Highlands. Yes, the adults too

3. eyeris said:

   on December 18, 2005 at 6:53 pm

   I’m from Temerloh myself.

   admin: my mom from SMKAB!

4. dante said:

   on December 19, 2005 at 9:41 pm

   It was not clear on her blog if she was attacking all the sarawakians/sabahans or just the bumiputras. I myself have never encountered the ‘pampering’ as she says; in fact, the test papers were marked by people from the peninsular malaysia to gain an overall benchmark throughout malaysia. I thought she was over generalising, and offensive. Please lah…it’s like the classic case of “you borneo ppl still live on trees issit”. Do a little research before making claims like that. Even if its true, it was as if she was saying all sarawakians/sabahans were inferior

   admin: if there were any attack, it’s the state that she’s attacking and I think her complaints are not unfounded. that the papers being marked by west malaysians have nothing to do with the leverage that bumiputras have over non-bumi, perhaps you should do some research before making an assumption.

5. Dante said:

   on December 20, 2005 at 12:25 am

   I didn’t make any claim that there isn’t any leverage. All i said was that i didn’t receive any and she seemed to be making an assumption that all sarawakians did.

6. w00ties said:

   on December 22, 2005 at 10:09 pm

   your friend’s ‘outburst’ is understandable, but erna’s pretty much said everything. im a sabahan myself, and while i personally think all those measures are a little unfair, since we are all malaysians regardless of whether we’re east/west… its mostly necessary to prevent the greedy few who would exploit sabah’s resources.

   then again, all those greedy few would really need to do was string along some sabahan businessman, and they’d still be able to get what they want.

   bottom line, its just another step to work around. think of it s red tape, beaurocracy.

   speaking about exam papers from sabah marked by teh orangs semenanjungs, my former vice principal back when i was in el Sekolah Menengah Sains Sabah (a.k.a. boarding skool), she was an orang semenanjung. and she admitted that most times, orang semenanjung exam marker people often were stricter on us, especially where papers like BM were concerned. back then i was already in the lowest grade of the BM classes, borderline fail each time, cilaka i was so depressed when i heard that. amazingly i got an A1 for BM anyhows.

   bah. going OT ni.

7. M8 said:

   on December 26, 2005 at 9:08 pm

   Hi Kimberly,
   Whilst I can understand your friend’s outburst, perhaps some records need to be set straight. I will first deal with the part on restrictions for lawyers from West Malaysia to practise in Sabah and Sarawak.

   She mentioned that there was a “agreement signed in 1963″ which most probably refers to the Malaysia Agreement signed in 1963. However that document is not the crux of the matter. What she should look at is Article 161B of the Federal Constitution which sets out the restrictions on lawyers appearing in the courts of law in Sarawak. This is not a new issue, although it has been the subject of debate over the years. The most recent comment on this subject was raised during the 13th Malaysian Law Conference held in KL by the Honourable Attorney General, Tan Sri Gani Patail. The State Attorney-General of Sarawak replied to his statement on the 22nd November 2005, which again, states that this protective measure is enshrined in Article 161B of the Federal Constitution. The only way for such restrictive measures to be lifted is if Article 161B is amended.

   In any event, perhaps you could enlighten your friend that there are provisions in the Advocates Ordinance (Sarawak) for ad hoc licences to be issued to lawyers from WM intending to appear before the courts of Sarawak for cases involving a novel issue of law. So her allegation that lawyers from WM are prevented from practising in Sarawak is not entirely true. As long as you can prove that your expertise warrants your presence in a case involving novel and difficult points of law, the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak has the discretion to allow/disallow your ad hoc licence application.

   Secondly, and I can only speak for Sarawak, due to our geographical location, it is necessary to travel out of Sarawak on a frequent basis, be it for business, leisure or studies. Having studied in WM for a few years, I always wondered why my WM classmates had very little knowledge of Sarawak. More often than not, Sarawak was always confused with Sabah, and Kuching was always confused with Kota Kinabalu. Whereas if you talk to most Sarawakians, it is highly unlikely that we would confused Kota Tinggi with Kota Bahru, or Perak with Perlis. This is just one example, which is in no way conclusive and not intended to be biased in any way.

   On the part of favourtism over bumis, I can only say that this is government policy which applies nationwide. We have lived with it since Malaysia Day. Those who felt that we could survive and loved Malaysia as our homeland, stayed behind. Those who found better pastures overseas, left. Nothing in life is fair. We just have to make the best out of it.

   My two cents.

   Hope the above helps.

8. kailiang said:

   on January 2, 2006 at 8:28 am

   huh! Of all the people, she has to pick on the one who is discriminated the most! how ironic…

   (No West Malaysians will ever know the feeling of the discrimination we Sabahan/Sarawakian endured all this years - sorry a bit offended and emotional hehe)

   admin: i see where you’re coming from. but my friend was emotional too due to her current position, don’t take offence ya. thanks for dropping by

9. Desmond Teo said:

   on July 4, 2006 at 7:54 am

   The passing mark in Sabah is 50% same as the rest of Malaysia. Moreover, to get an A we need to score at least 85% and above. I know about it because I am a Sabahan, Sabahan also have to follow strict regulation to enter university. If anyone wanted to enter university in Malaysia. Everyone are treated the same as other states.

   My dad is from Johore and he can find a job here but occasionally he needs to renew his work pass. However, it is sad that someone make fun of Sabah discrimination.

   Eri_lim give Sabahan a bad image right now. Yes, it is true that of it is set back in the 1960s but this rule is set to protect us not to pamper us. She also needs to remember that we are Malaysian and we are always equal.

   Sorry, if I offended anyone.

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