1st Chapter: Common inspiration of Anak Sarawak

Common inspiration of Anak Sarawak

I am opening up this blog with the primary aim to share the little knowledge and experience that I have been privileged to gain in my early days as a kampong boy in the village, which has already been earmarked as abandoned village in the map, a primary school boy in Atap schools and a poor student in a government school.

I had to help my parents in their farms and gardens before they decided to send me to school, which was about four miles from the Kampung. I had to walk to schools with other boys, who were much older than me and back home every day, five days a week for six years.  After I passed the common entrance examination, I was selected to attend a government secondary. As my parents were traditional farmers, I could not afford things other than my basic needs a boarder in school. 

It was a tough life. However, it helped to remind me of my humble root and  develop a good virtue to give credit where credit is due and criticize with a view to collect the situation for the good of the general public. Even my life as a civil servant was never a bed of red roses. However, now that I am a pensioner, I can look back with some satisfaction that I have been able to climb up the ladder from the bottom rung right to the top.  I can feel comfortable with my former colleagues, who used to work under me and my former bosses both in the civil service and politics.

I can see with my own eyes how Sarawak has been transformed from a backward State to one of the fastest growing economies in the country.  There is nothing more demoralizing, as Anak Sarawak, to be asked  even in the 80s how many people still live on trees the State. I used to be told by colleagues that Malaysia was only Peninsular Malaysia whether out of ignorance or they could not accept Sarawak as a poor state to be part of Malaysia.

However, over the years, after retirement and having more times for myself I have been able to watch events telecast live by RTM or TV3, which acknowledge lots of modern development taking place in the State. To me, there is nothing more satisfying than to be reminded that we are living in a modern and progressive state with every potential to become a modern and progressive state towards the year 2020 and beyond.

Indisputably, the land surface of the State, which is almost of the same size as Peninsular Malaysia, has been changed from jungles and forests to plantations or estates and industrial and other development sites. The road network that started with less than 200 Km of roads has been stretched to about 15,000 km that cuts across hills in the hinterlands and soggy and muddy coastline. They pass through numerous wide rivers and deep ravines throughout the nooks and corners of the state.

Generally, the people are enjoying greater comfort from the situation of poverty and deprivation and having progress and advancement from the situation of backwardness.  On the whole, the state is being endowed with peace and tranquility from the situation of insecurity. More importantly, the people are nurturing the attitude of self – help in working to improve their livelihood from the situation of waiting for help from other people.  These are important changes to the people without which they cannot enjoy the standard of living, which befits them as people of an independent nation.

As I have said earlier I have raised the hard way to become what I am today, a man in retirement  with nothing very much to complain except that I have to live with only half of the amount of money that I used to get as my monthly salary. Now I have to live on my pension only. Still I am prepared to give credit where credit is due. Quite obviously, Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, as the fourth Chief Minister, has been trying to implement development programs that are relevant and beneficial to all communities. Obviously, he understands that the people, regardless of their ethnic origins and religious beliefs, share the common aspiration and high expectation to have continuous development for the State for common benefits.

As we all know, he took over the helm of the State Government on March 26,  1981. Then the population of Sarawak comprised of more than 70% rural dwellers and about 30%, urban dwellers. The rate of poverty was about 60% and unemployment among the people especially youth in villages and longhouses were very high.  The situation gave rise to an explosive feeling of dissatisfaction against the government, which was being accused of pursuing politics of favoritism. Consequently, instigating racial and communal feelings was the best weapon to win support, though highly divisive support, in any elections.

The new way forward must necessarily be to mobilise the people and orientate them towards development. Besides, the way forward was also to motivate youth to have more confidence in themselves and be prepared to accept changes and reinvigorate members of the civil service and synergise their services with the demands of development. It was a tall order.  More importantly, Sarawak must run faster than other states in order to catch up with their progress and advancement.  

Indisputably, the massive development, being carried since Merdeka, more so since the early 90s has brought about the social change. In the 60s, when our politicians had yet to adjust themselves to work together, there were a lot of public spats among them. The public knowledge of misunderstandings among them gave rise to political instability that was quickly exploited Clandestine Communists Organisation (CCO) with the avowed aim to gain power through armed struggle. I remember seeing some of their pamphlets being distributed in our secondary school. They called us to support their struggle and not to remain as cannon folders of the British colonialists. 

Understandably, any development brings about change and creates job or business opportunities for the people, who on their part, must endeavor to adapt to changes.  They must be prepared to be mobile, mobile in the sense of physical movement across the length and breadth of the State and the social mobility upward, in order to exploit opportunities, being created in the process of development.   With changes, better opportunities and mobility, the people begin to develop a greater sense of equality; that drives them to a greater sense of achievement.  

Today, the rural dwellers form only 39% of the population whiles those in town and city form 61%. Understandably, the change in demographic patterns necessitates demands for a new development strategy in order to find the way to better life. Essentially, urban development must have the objective to create environment for more sophisticated living, which entails providing better amenities to the people living in the centre of any town or city.

When the population used to be scattered all over the rural areas in groups of less than 50 doors of longhouses, it was very difficult to have the critical mass, a prerequisite to development.  Of course, such patterns of population impose real disadvantages in the development of a modern economy, which depends so much on market size and activities of consumers. 

Indisputably, the development efforts, those that involve opening up more lands, comprising both State and private lands, have brought about tremendous progress to Sarawak.  Continuous development efforts have helped to turn the situation of hardship, poverty and deprivation to progress and modernity for the people.  The state, though an integral part of the beloved nation, retains an identity that is distinct and undiminished. It has its own history, varied customs and traditions, a way of life that is distinguished by pluralism in culture.

Though Sarawak may have its own peculiarities but it remains steadfast in pursuing a future that is neither separate nor independent from that of the nation. In other words, it remains true to its status as an indispensable part of the nation and a major contributor to the larger identity of the beloved nation. It has been able to move steps by steps forward since it gained the status of self-government on July 22, 1963 and full statehood in the independent MalaysiaSeptember 16, 1963.  on

Initially, the State’s development was slow mainly due to the huge land surface, which comprises of rugged terrains mainly of hilly and mountainous hinterlands and soggy and muddy coastal areas.   In the 60s and the 70s, the problem of rugged terrains was compounded by security problems posed by armed communist terrorists, who had been bent on toppling the elected government in order to install a proletarian regime.

Besides, the people were living in 5,000 traditional villages and longhouses, which were distant apart from each other, mostly between one to 30 miles apart. They were scattered thinly over a wide area throughout the nooks and corners of the state. The people in Ba’kelalan and Long Semado, for example, had to walk for 14 days Lawas in order to register for identity cards or report the births of children or deaths of members of their families.  Generally, it was very difficult to bring meaningful development, which must be comprehensive and thorough to such areas.

Self-less dedication

The State has been able to move forward because the people, in spite of our ethnic, religious and other differences have been able to dedicate themselves to work together in the common struggle to bring about continuous development to the State.  The people remain steadfast in the struggle for nation building and  defeat is not an option in such struggle. The achievement, after 45 years of continuous development, gives the people the courage and confidence in the future towards the year 2020 and beyond.

Quite obviously, the struggle for nation building must continue to be founded on the necessity to strengthen unity, safeguard the harmonious relationship among the various ethnic groups, equip the people with knowledge and skills and nurture the attitude of willingness to learn new ways of doing things.  Besides, the people must have the attitude of wanting to equip themselves with relevant knowledge and skills of technical jobs, which are expected to come up more and more as the State intensifies the industrial development towards the year 2020 and beyond.

Hence, tireless efforts must be made to remind the people that knowledge and skills are passports that do not consider ethnicities of whether a person is Malay, Chinese, Iban or any others in the struggle for the betterment of life. Everybody should be able to move up in life through his or her own initiatives and efforts using knowledge and skills.  This is the common challenge for the people to move forward.

The old way of doing things will not bring the State far into the future. For example, the state, through SLDB, could only open up 10,000 hectares of land for estates in 10 years. Now the state, which has been adopting the commercial way of opening up lands, has been able to open up about one million hectares of land, which is 20 times bigger than the traditional way. The new way entails working with people having the entrepreneurship skills and capital to set up factories and open up land for estates. More importantly, the State has to set up institutions to impart knowledge and skills to the people to prepare them to work in industrial plants, factories, construction sites as we move deeper into the era of massive industrial development.

Understandably, the state has to emphasize on industrial development that requires huge expenditure in the second phase of development. It can no longer depend on the wealth of the state that comes from taxes for the purpose. Instead, it must endeavor to move forward by attracting more foreign investors to invest in local development.

The state’s future progress and prosperity, in the next 15 years, will be beyond the imagination of the people.  It is anticipated that billions of ringgit worth of investments will be invested by foreign banks and financial institutions during the period. The State, with vast energy potentials, will be able to propel itself to become a more progressive and prosperous state beyond the year 2020, assuredly by the year 2030. It has increasingly become an attractive place for investment due to its strategic location in Far East Asia and vast energy resources, which, if fully exploited, will not be easily affected by rising costs of oil.

The state’s energy potentials, a fair mix of hydro power and coals, can generate more than 20,000 megawatts of electricity power towards the year 2020 and beyond. Hence, the state has pressing reasons to develop the hinterlands of Baram, Kapit and Mukah for this purpose. The proposed hydro and coal-fired power stations must generate sufficient energy, at reasonable costs, as a prerequisite to develop energy intensive industries that have been planned in  places like Similajau, Bintulu, Ulu Baram, Tunoh in Kapit and Ulu Limbang and others; some of these places are still largely being uninhabited at the moment.  

The proposed development towards the year 2020 and beyond, once implemented, will herald a golden era that depicts unparalleled progress and advancement. Undeniably, the development efforts, based on the philosophy of the politics of development, have brought about tremendous progress and prosperity to the people and the State.  

Besides, the state, as an integral part of the beloved nation, retains an identity that is distinct and undiminished. It has its own history, varied customs and traditions, a way of life that is distinguished by pluralism in culture. Though it has its own peculiarities but remain steadfast in pursuing a future that is neither separate nor independent from that of the nation. In other words, the State remains true to its status as an indispensable part of the nation and a major contributor to the larger identity of the beloved nation.

More importantly, the State, with about 30 ethnic and sub-ethnic groups and diverse religious beliefs and other differences has become an inspiration for others to make the concept of One Malaysia, People First, Performance a priority, a REALITY.