Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly — they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.
— Aldous Huxley, English writer and philosopher.
It’s a crying shame that we continue to make mistakes in the media about historical or geographical facts all too often.
It’s bad enough that our counterparts in Malaya make the perennial mistake of not being able to differentiate between the East Malaysia states of Sabah and Sarawak.
But even in Sarawak we still don’t know who we are or where we come from.
Last month a Unimas graduate was misquoted by a reporter who said Fort Sylvia was built by the first White Rajah Sir James Brooke in 1867 when in actual fact, it was built by his nephew Charles.
Earlier this week, two reports from separate newspapers came up with more misinformation.
In a front-page headline, one newspaper said several Border Scouts had protected Ba’Kelalan in Lawas from being invaded by communists from across the North Kalimantan border between 1960 and 1961.
And they wanted the government to recognise them as permanent residents.
This is not possible because there have never been communists in North Kalimantan and even until today Ba’Kelalan is still a hardcore Borneo Evangelical Mission Christian belt.
In fact, the article offended a former Sarawak officer ACP Louis Gines that he called to say that a group of so-called former Borneo Scouts in the report were not from Lawas but from across the border.
“How can they say they are Malaysians just because they are now staying in Sarawak,” said the 88-year-old Gines who was the last staff officer of Sarawak’s Border Scouts.
Gines said the bigger issue is that more than 1,000 genuine Border Scouts and police auxiliary personnel have been short-changed by the federal government because they were not compensated for their sacrifices during the Confrontation between 1963 and 1967.
The issue of compensation goes to the time when my father Datuk Seri John Ritchie was asked to serve termination notices to the Border Scouts of Bario.
During Confrontation dozens of Border Scouts lost their lives — 20 of whom in two major tragedies at Long Jawe in Belaga when nine Kenyahs and 12 Ibans were tortured and killed in an ambush at Ulu Ngemah.
Of course, no one can fault the writer because she would not have known better.
In my quest to champion the forgotten Border Scouts, I have travelled to most of the remotest corners and authored books to tell their story.
Earlier this week, I had a good laugh over another factual error, even though this is no laughing matter.
In the report, the subject who is a Iban actress, said she was feted by Margaret Brooke, wife of the Second Rajah Charles Brooke when attending her film premier in Singapore in 1957.
She was in fact entertained by the Third Rajah Vyner Brooke’s wife Ranee Sylvia.
Ranee Margaret died at the age of 86 in London on December 1, 1936.
Looking back, I recall that during the 1970s, reporters go to great lengths to get their facts right or risk a tongue-lashing.
There was no room for error and at worst, a bad sub would be exiled to Sarawak so that he could stay out of sight for a few years — like I did for 40 years!
Yes, I am also guilty of badly written articles — but over the years I have learnt the hard way.
With my experience, I would easily qualify as a chief sub — but it’s not likely that any newspaper would dare employ me in this time and age, given the abusive language I would use over a badly written article.
Of late, the standard of reporters has slightly improved but grammatical errors continue to crop up all too often — ask any veteran editor and they will agree.
Our world is changing fast, in fact too fast for the new crop of people who are more familiar with Bahasa Malaysia and struggle with understanding English grammar, adjectives, adverbs and tenses.
We have a molly-coddled group of writers who think they are God‘s gift to journalism rather than pull up their socks.
Sarawak must not just be ‘clones’ of our peers in Kuala Lumpur because a large majority of their writers are streets ahead of us.
My argument is that if we don’t groom our young ones to buck up soon, then Sarawak may have to contend with the fact we will soon be saddled with a lost generation.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
