A Sarawak for Sarawak by Sarawak
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
By a rather confused Sarawakian in dilemma who is a strong Anwar Ibrahim supporter but for some reasons stopped for posting comments against the BN. It allows things to be looked in a whole new perspective. I am flying home to vote!
I am a Kuching born Sarawakian and I attended primary and secondary school in Kuching. So I spent around 17 years in Kuching. After that I went to a college in Subang Jaya, subsequently a university in Damansara and then a year in the Cardiff. I am now doing the Certificate of Legal Practice in KL. So I have spent around 5 years in Kuala Lumpur and I suppose I will soon to call KL my second home! Nothing beat my beloved hometown, Kuching. So it will always be my home, a true home!
Year 2011 is the year for Sarawak
Year 2011 is definitely a year for Sarawak simply because all the people around me, the somewhat arrogant big city people start getting interested about Sarawak. It is still quite OK to be arrogant but not ignorant. Alright, certain people really are, we have people saying that Kuching is the capital city of Sabah, imagine that; in addition to the old stories that we travel by sampan, and lives on a tree. We even have people coming to university saying that ‘…payment have to be made online by credit card unless all those in the jungles of Sarawak!’ I suppose all those QUK 1, QMF 11, QSG 1 Benz, Hummer or Ninja King on Sprint Highway should knock down their WUK 6884, Perodua Viva!
Few years ago, I needed to go home for an emergency family matter. I was at the Air Asia counter and all the earlier flights were fully booked. The next flight was 10 hours away or else I need to check on MAS. An uncle with good intention suggested to me ‘Why don’t you fly to Sibu and from there take a bus or train to Kuching?’ I politely ‘smiled’ to the uncle telling him ‘Sibu is 12 hours drive away.’ He does not even know that Sarawak do not have a train system. Anyway, his intention is good.
Recently, a friend of a friend was cheated by the ‘lucky draw’ scam at KL Central for a few thousand ringgit. He is actually from like Batu 20 something of a rural area near Kuching. I brought him to the police station. I then shared this story with a few friends who they all think that he is somewhat silly. This is what the mentality of most Sarawakians staying in the rural area is. They are denied access to basic information and awareness. Please called them innocent, not stupid because we are all partly responsible for this. Stop giving me excuse that Sarawak is too big and KL is small. It is again like comparing Malaysia to Singapore, it makes you a fool, really.
Additionally, like the Penans rape cases, it simply gets me into depression. In order to have access to education, they run the risks of being raped. Again they are not stupid. They are fighting for a chance to be more educated. They are too innocent because of the highways and fancy buildings we are having.
Just last year, I was in Cardiff. To my surprised, I received an email from the Malaysian Society of Cardiff University asking us to sign the petition for the Sarawak Penans. They even distribute leaflets during their activities, etc etc. Pretty cool and good stuffs I think! It was once like a piece of hotcake everyone was talking about, posting on Facebook and re-tweeting. People in the capital seem to be interested again on talking about Sarawak. Hoooray! That piece of hotcake is now mildewed and being disposed off in the middle nowhere. From there on, nobody asks me about the Penans again. Lasted for about a month, then I do not see any leaflets or receiving any emails again. Well, so we are talking about Sarawak Election now eh! Ok, the society do not talk about election, it is apolitical OK!
I saw a friend’s profile picture on Facebook taken with Wee Ka Siong few days ago. Oh, WKS was in Kuching for Kolo Mee. I am also following Anwar Ibrahim, Tony Pua, Lim Guan Eng, Lim Kit Siang, Khairy Jamaluddin & even Najib on Twitter. For the last one week, they all have visited Sarawak, for LKS, WKS, KJ, Najib & Muhiddin Yasin, they spent only a night or two in Kuching whereas Anwar Ibrahim & Tony Pua are going to spend around three weeks in Sarawak. Good for them actually, the last time I remember Anwar Ibrahim visited Kuching was during the opening of PKR new headquarter in Kuching.
Correct me if I am wrong on how many times they have visited Sarawak or how many nights are they going to stay, but all the leaders come here with only one intention, to get our votes and to give promises. Thereafter, they run! Can my friend in Sibu tell me did Anwar Ibrahim visit Sibu again after the Sibu by-election? Alright, WKS visited Kuching High School a few times and no doubts we have some ministers that are really working. Do not tell me this is politics. Bear in mind, politics are between parties and the ultimate aim is to serve the people regardless of your party.
The Sarawak Election is also an international issue. We have the Radio Free Sarawak broadcasting live from London. We have ang mos protestors in London, Geneva, Melbourne, Sydney, generally all over the world. It seems to me that Sarawak election is more than a national issue, an international one. Very well, indeed. It is no longer an issue for only the Sarawakians but the world. Everyone now loves Sarawak just like liking the Tamagotchi or the online pet we used to play. Everyone now woo Sarawakians to change Malaysia! Everyone is now a Sarawakian. 2011 is definitely a year for Sarawak.
‘Sarawak, the BN’s fixed deposit!’
This statement is epic! An ordinary Sarawakian or Malaysian will understand it as Sarawakians fully support BN. Even I have friends asking me ‘whyla u Sarawakian like BN so much?’ Ok, I might not be writing in fancy or good English but I understand ‘fixed deposit’ with the most unusual characteristic that the funds cannot be withdrawn for a specified period of time. So BN put Sarawak as a fixed deposit, it is true! It means that we cannot be bothered for a specified period of time, in this case, like forever? That is the characteristic of a fixed deposit. Oh, Haha! Talking about fixed deposit, it is about time for me to check with the bank on how much my interest is! I have a FD with a bank, already open for quite some time and since the money cannot be touched, I rarely check the interest. Sarawakians did not receive any interest for the FD. How often did BN check on Sarawak besides during election?
So, why I am writing this?
I run the risks of being called a ‘PERKASA style’ of Sarawakian. I know. I read your mind especially those arrogant people from the capital city like KL? Wtf again right? Sorry if I spoil your day. Smile! Do not tell me how we Sarawakian should behave until you have come to Sarawak. Indeed, the world understands Borneo better than Kuala Lumpur. We have so much of opportunities, but the opportunities are now gone. The Sarawak election is a Sarawak state of affairs at the end of the day.
So what have we, Sarawakians done so far? I had a chat with a friend from Kuching living in Melbourne yesterday who is yet to register as a voter. He told me how useless is it to register as a voter since the vote counting itself is not transparent.
Another good friend working in Adelaide sent me an article about Taib making illegal donation to the University of Adelaide. She felt embarrassed so I ask her have you register as a voter? She replied ‘I dun have to vote do i?’ I told her ‘Eh come on! Why not? That’s the very basic and fundamental rights one should have and exercise! You have to vote!!! Or register!’ She then asked ‘Can register online?’ Both of my friends are of Australia PR status.
This is a thinking of majority. Let us look at Penang, Perak & Selangor or nearer, in the parliamentary seat of Sibu. If the majority vote is low, then of course the votes are more easily adjustable. On the other hand if it is high, then not everyone can adjust the votes, or at least it would be more difficult to do so. It is this simple reason that brought to the change of government in the above states, or in Sibu. Imagine if 70% voted for Party A and at last Party B won, trust me, I will bring everyone on the street! Yes, Malaysia is corrupted, but it is not until that extent. Soon it will be if you still refused to register and I will be agreeing with you. So be it transparent or not, your vote is of utmost importance. The SPR should be blamed for not providing more means of voters’ registration, i.e. online registration. Again, I think it is for simple political reason again things are not possible.
So believe me, those in overseas, when you are back in Malaysia for a vacation or something, please respect and exercise your citizen rights to register as a voter. Stop the ‘not giving a damn shit’ attitude so that ‘we can kick the arse of people calling Sarawakians as fools!’
I also feel really sad that just last week I have to pull a good friend who is so disappointed and full of complaints about the current system to register as a voter. He however does not confirm with me that he will exercise his rights to cast a vote.
I am not coaching you on how you should cast your vote for the coming Sarawak Election. It is difficult to trust any political parties at the moment. BN has its own problems, so do the PR. UMNO is as arrogant as PKR. When Anwar Ibrahim said in front of Lim Kit Siang ’15 seats is enough, don’t quarrel again!’ and Kit Siang did not react, I feel the slight similarities of the role between UMNO and MCA. In addition to all the dramas, Dominique Ng quit PKR today and is planning to run as an independent candidate. I read friends’ comments that they are going to vote for the opposition no matter who is the candidate. The wind of change is blowing in Sarawak.
This piece of writing is written apolitically. People who read my blog previously will know that I am a strong fan of Anwar Ibrahim. However, at the end of the day, I realized that we should vote for the right candidate for the people; whoever that can serve us well! Yes, you might want Taib to step down and he really should, 30 years even before I am born. However, it is somewhat a funny and absurd reason if you vote a candidate that you never know him or her just because you want Taib to step down. You run the risk of disadvantaging all your entitlements. If PR form the government of Sarawak, and PR soon form the federal government, will Anwar Ibrahim or Tony Pua stay in Sarawak for three weeks to work on this biggest state of Malaysia, or at the very least to corroborate more with the State government for the sake of developments in Sarawak? Will it just be another BN alike government? Or to be fair, they might be slightly better? You will tell me ‘never try, never know!’
I have given so much of ‘hit and run’ examples. ...five years ago nobody bloody cares about Sarawak, and now everyone is talking about Sarawak. Five years later, nobody will care again! Enough Sarawakians! We have had enough, we deserve so much better! They have raped us. After that they now want to marry us; but divorce is just in a matter of the time. The worst part is, we are under age and our Papa(s) consented. I beg nobody will care about Sarawak again during 31st August 2011. National day is for a nation, we are a nation – called the ‘Malaysia’, but Malaysia is formed on the 16th Sept. 16th Sept is not the national day. Yea right! I am not expecting the same level of developments as in KL, the capitaly city is still the capital city, but to treat us in a more reasonable fair manner.
For the people that are as confused as me, please vote! It is not because all the parties are the same then you should not cast your vote. Vote for yourself, your rights, your entitlements and your future! It is the real change that we are talking about. If the candidate is good, vote for him, not the party. If you vote for a good and a well deserved winning candidate, at the end of the day, real change will come, the party with the most numbers of best candidates will form the government and the rakyats will win!
6 April 2011. 1.07AM. at Jalan Damansara, KL.
All Rights Reserved. ® The author is in no way whatsoever trying to defame or downgrade any party named or unnamed in this writing. The author hereby apologizes if you find this writing offensive.
Labels: I love Malaysia, I love this country, Kuching, Malaysia, Sarawak, Sarawak Election 2011, World
posted by Sze Jia @ 1:09 am,
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Heal the world
Thursday, 14 January 2010
One part of the world is having snow storm.
The other part had earth quake....make it a better place.
Labels: I love Malaysia, World
posted by Sze Jia @ 1:57 am,
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