Sarawakians and Peninsular Malaysians have been engaged in an online war after Sarawak's BN gained landslide victory in the recently concluded Sarawak state election.
Understandably, as a Peninsular Malaysian, I understand perfectly why we are upset. We have no idea why Sarawakians continue to vote for BN after their recent draconian, oppressive and dictator-semblance ruling.
As a Peninsular Malaysian in Sarawak, I can shed some light on it.
Why Sarawakians Voted for BN
Sarawak Chief Minister, Adenan Satem, is undoubtedly a good chief minister. He has managed to regain some lost autonomy to Sarawak. He has repeatedly emphasised that the Chinese are not illegal immigrants and has subsequently recognised UEC as an acceptable qualification.
He has abolished two tolls in Sarawak. He has clamped down hard on illegal logging. And he lowered taxes in Sarawak. He also recognises English as an official language in Sarawak.
He has done a lot that the federal government opposes.
Obviously he is endearing to Sarawakians.
Plus, I believe the fact that he says he wishes to have "only one more term", and says he "will step down after another term and will not continue even if asked" is another push factor for state BN.
Sarawakians voted for BN mostly because of Adenan. He is the factor.
Why West Malaysians are Angry
The thing that being in Sarawak is that I get to understand Sarawakians much better, and that's one thing I cannot help noticing and that would be impossible to miss. And this thing is the root of the friction.
Sarawakians and West Malaysians vote very differently. And they see the world differently. Just compare the reports and featured articles in The Borneo Post, a local newspaper, and The Star, a national newspapers, and that difference shines bright like a diamond.
The thing is when it comes to elections, West Malaysians, or Peninsular Malaysians, put the nation first, while Sarawakians vote like Sarawakians and national issues aren't their big concerns. And this has been reiterated in Reuters, an international news agency, and recently, The Star.
West Malaysians are extremely angry about BN, and that's why they are so angry with Sarawakians that they continue to vote for BN.
As mentioned, West Malaysians look at national issues when voting.
Look at how BN rules the country. Just look at 1MDB scandal. When 1MDB made international headlines, Malaysian Ringgit depreciated a little (and a little can be a lot). Sarawakians can deny 1MDB scandal affects Sarawak and Sarawak is shielded from those "unrest" (people in Kuching are very quiet about the issue), the fact is Sarawak is also affected by the weakened ringgit, whether they like to admit it or not.
Our education level has remained stagnant and is even going down. Our nation debt continues to go up and sees no prospect of coming down. It has reached 54% of our GDP and surpassing 55% is a red light that may warrant bankruptcy notice. Yes, Malaysia is that close. Malaysia continues to slide on World Corruption Index. Global economy is slowly climbing up but Malaysia remains stagnant.
Our press freedom has got increasingly oppressive. Journalists who do not report in favour of the ruling government or even dare to go against them risk being persecuted under the nation's oppressive sedition law. People are frequently silenced from voicing out dissatisfactions that may threaten the grip of the ruling government. Look at what happened to The Malaysian Insider.
These are the issues West Malaysians look at during elections, but something that Sarawakians do not concern about, or at least not as much as us. If you say the sentiment is high in Sarawak, you have not left Sarawak. I'm in Sarawak, I can tell how big that difference is. In the peninsula, the sentiment and anger are palpable and publicly displayed, whereas in Sarawak it is sort of treated as a taboo, something you do not discuss publicly, possibly because people's political alignment there remain divergent.
To West Malaysians, national issues triumph state issues, because if our nation falls, no matter how good your state is, it also falls. Therefore, we put nation first.
This is why there will always be a gap between how Sarawakians and West Malaysians vote. And this is why there will always be a friction.
If Sarawakians and West Malaysians do not communicate and continue to drive each other further apart, the ultimate losers will be all of us.
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