A FEW weeks ago, a Facebook post about East Malaysia went viral on social media. The author of the post had posed a question asking where one could buy a shotgun in East Malaysia for his sibling, who had received an offer from Unimas (University Malaysia Sarawak). In the author’s opinion, getting a shotgun was necessary protection for his sibling, who was going to live in the jungle.

Within a few hours, the post received hundreds of replies and shares, and was even picked up in local newspapers. Clearly, in those replies, there was a lot of displeasure from East Malaysians.

This misconception of East Malaysia is not uncommon. Just search on YouTube, and you will easily find videos of East Malaysians relating their awkward encounters with Peninsular Malaysians. Some have been asked “Do you live on trees?” or even get greeted with “Welcome to Malaysia!” when they disclose where they come from.  As a Sabahan, I have encountered similar situations too.

Misconceptions

When it comes to general knowledge about East Malaysia, the average Peninsular Malaysian’s understanding tends to be limited, more or less, to its popularity as tourist destination: from being home to Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Southeast Asia, to the beauty  and diversity of natural wildlife such as the Orang Utan. Moreover, in the Peninsular, local media rarely reports news about East Malaysia, further limiting opportunities for people to be exposed to East Malaysian issues.

It does not help that our local secondary school history textbooks have scant coverage on East Malaysia. Moreover, what little content there is on the Bornean states tends to be riddled with misconceptions and misinformation.

According to local historian Bilcher Bala, the content of secondary history textbooks has remained largely peninsular-centric for several years, despite the syllabus undergoing four revisions since 1990. Moreover, as if the gaps in Sabah and Sarawak history were not bad enough, incorrect information still abounds, such as in the Form One textbook, which describes the Penan people as “hunting nomads” and using the image of a Kelabit person to wrongly depict the Penan.

Last year, the issue of misleading information in history textbooks blew up in Sabah when a local community-based association lodged a report to Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka (DBP) over an error regarding the explanation of Murut death rituals in Form One history textbooks.

Although the error only involved several words, representatives of the association argued that it was harmful to the customs of the Murut tribe, since the information deflected from the foundation of their language and custom. Moreover, the books were already being studied by students in schools. The controversy was resolved only when DBP formally apologised to the community and made a peace reconciliation via the native custom of paying Sogit (customary fine).

Aside from major flaws and information gaps on Borneo culture and heritage, the current history curriculum also misses out on explaining important issues related to the terms and conditions in which the three states, Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, agreed to merge to form Malaysia, and the granting of certain historical privileges and rights to Sabah and Sarawak.

For example, in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement of 1963, Sabah and Sarawak were given the power to regulate immigration to their states. Currently, both states still practice autonomy over immigration control under Section 66 of the Immigration Act, hence why Malaysians from the Peninsula require a permit if they want to work or study, or obtain a 90-day visit pass if they wish to make a short visit.

Just as details on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 document are not well spelt out in the textbooks, many Malaysians from the Peninsular still remain “clueless” about the roots of this unique ongoing immigration policy, which in turn has bred misunderstanding and misconceptions.

A Merdeka for all

Regardless of whether we are celebrating our 6th or 61st Merdeka, it is extremely disappointing that many Malaysians still harbour mistaken ideas and perceptions about Sabah and Sarawak. Such misconceptions and lack of understanding may seem humorous at first, but can also elicit feelings of annoyance, exasperation and even anger from Sarawakians and Sabahans, many of whom take pride in their home states.

The longer this cluelessness is allowed to carry on, the greater the risk of destroying the harmony of the whole country. Already, the existence of several Borneo-based independent movements calling for state autonomy, such as Sabah & Sarawak Keluar Malaysia (SSKM), “Sabah for Sabahans” and “Sarawak for Sarawakians” suggests that there are significant symptoms of discord.

While these movements are partly a facet of political games deployed by politicians, the fact that they have gained a support base among East Malaysians should be of concern to those of us on the other side of the South China Sea.

If Malaysians truly aspire to be united as citizens it is important that we take action to reduce this cluelessness about Sabah and Sarawak. For a start, the government should review and revamp the history textbook syllabus to correct misconceptions and increase more content on both states.

Local media also plays an important role as a platform for raising public awareness on news and information related to East Malaysia. Getting more East Malaysian journalists and reporters to collaborate with the Peninsular-based newspapers could be one way to increase knowledge about East Malaysia news on the Peninsula.

Finally, if you have not already done so, I would strongly encourage all readers to take advantage of the upcoming holidays to visit East Malaysia, and experience its full range of cultural and ethnic diversity. You may just find yourself surprised at what you discover in the far-flung corners of your country and among your fellow countrymen. – September 4, 2018.

* Esther Sinirisan Chong is a member of Agora Society. She was born and raised in the Land Below the Wind. Her research interest lies in education and government policies, and the history and heritage of East Malaysia.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.