KUCHING: The remarks by activist and lawyer Asiah Abd Jalil on Sarawak and Sabah are unpatriotic.
In stating this, political secretary to Premier Susan Clement Ingun said that her statement was irresponsible as some who had never been to Sabah and Sarawak, including foreigners might perceive her statement as true.
Furthermore, she added that Asiah’s remarks had publicly hurt the Malaysian family (Sarawak, Sabah, and Peninsular as a whole) in front of the whole world.
“Of course she’s entitled to give her view and comment about Sarawak and Sabah but her opinion does not represent the majority of our brothers and sisters from the peninsula.
“In fact, her action received backlash from most of the West Malaysians who have been working and residing in Sabah and Sarawak for years.
“To make matters worse, Asiah gave her opinion negatively without living and experiencing real life in Sabah and Sarawak herself,” she said when contacted by the New Sarawak Tribune.
In a recent Facebook post, Asiah had said that, “As a citizen of Peninsular Malaysia, I see Sabah and Sarawak as not a beautiful place to pursue a career. Not a practical place to plan a family life.”
Adding on, Susan stated that it was also sad to know that Asiah tried to get other Malaysians to side with her view and remark after hurting the feelings of Sarawakians and Sabahans.
“It shows her mentality is similar to a Singaporean comedian Jocelyn Chia who made fun of the MH370 tragedy and regarded Malaysia as a third world country a few weeks ago in her show.
“There is a saying that goes ‘if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all’,
“Therefore, the best response that we can give to Asiah is that her opinion is irrelevant, so let’s just move along.”
