Why is Sarawak 1 Malaysia
(The Malaysian Insider) Datuk Seri Najib Razak eloquently waxed lyrical about Sarawak in his blog yesterday, telling the tale of his recent visit to the country's largest state and walking in his father's footsteps to a remote Serian village.
In six crisp paragraphs, he noted that the 1 Malaysia concept is a way of life in Sarawak, exemplifying what he meant by “Unity Through Diversity” where they collectively honour the cultures and celebrations of their assorted ethnic groups.
Of course, the question is why isn't it happening in the rest of Malaysia.
Four letters U-M-N-O.
Yes, Mr Prime Minister. The simple answer is because Umno is not present in Sarawak.
Race relations is better in the Land of the Hornbills because the divisive force in Malaysian politics — Umno — is not allowed into the state. It does not mean that Sarawak is better off in any way than any other state in the federation but at least race relations is not quite an issue.
It is a big issue over in the Malay peninsula. Malaysians in the 11 states that make up Peninsular Malaysia have been thrown apart because some Umno politicians have used race and religion to sow discord and suspicion among the races.
That is why the Chinese still talk about the 1987 gathering by Umno Youth at the TPCA Stadium with fear and anger. Of course, conveniently forgotten is that the Chinese themselves had a racially-tinged rally a week earlier to protest the appointment of educationists in Chinese-medium schools.
Nothing much has changed since then. Malaysians in the peninsula still talk through their racial prisms. Umno's eagerness to have unity talks with PAS has exacerbated the perception that Umno is keeping to its Malay agenda at the expense of a Malaysian agenda 52 years after independence.
And the ruling Barisan Nasional is still a coalition of mainly race-based parties. Some of whom have internal conflicts that have spilled out in the open, leaving people wondering whether they should continue supporting and uniting under the umbrella of quarrelling politicians.
Much has been said about all this that it bears no repetition. Umno's allies in Sarawak have wisely avoided the angst by keeping Umno out of the state, and in the process made 1 Malaysia years before Najib took office.
As he said in his blog, "I reflected upon the display of solidarity I had seen over the two days. Even before I had expounded the virtues and elements of the 1 Malaysia concept, it had long been practised by the people of Sarawak, whether living in the more developed towns and cities, or in the traditional longhouses and villages of their ancestors".
What can the prime minister do further? He answered it himself.
"At the same time, I reflected upon the importance of ensuring that both the federal and state governments, hand in hand, continue to push for development in all areas of Sarawak to achieve its goals and desires, as discussed with the Sarawak Chief Minister. I wish I had more time to meet with the state assemblymen; nevertheless, necessary action will be taken based on the dialogue we had".
Umno needs to reflect whether the Malayan dream of 1957 and the Malaysian dream of 1963 is fast becoming a nightmare under its leadership.
Yes, "1 Malaysia is and will continue to be a dynamic process of national development" as long as all Malaysians are seen to be equals in their homeland. Insinuations of being foreigners and immigrants, be they by word, deed or in print, will not help.
Otherwise, the only way forward for the Malaysian dream or 1 Malaysia is to leave Umno out of the equation. Like what Sarawak has done.
