By Frank Julian
SIBU: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has described Sarawak as a shining example of a united and progressive state in Malaysia.
The region has proven that its people know that one of the key ingredients of moving forward is indeed unity, and in this context, the prime minister wants people in Peninsular Malaysia to learn from Sarawak.
He opined that this enabled Sarawak to focus on developing its economy and look to the future, citing its bid to create green energy out of hydrogen as an example of progressiveness for others in the country to follow.
However, local entrepreneur Dr Gregory Hii Sui Cheng said it was not by accident that Sarawak was reaping the rewards of harmony and unity among the people of various races, cultures and religions.
He said it took painstaking efforts by the people and their forefathers to bring the state to where it is today, where tolerance and respect serve as a key foundation for building a peaceful society.
On top of that, he said, the region is lucky to have successive political leaders who subscribe to multi-racialism and abhor extremism.
“And leadership by example is always there, with current Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, former Chief Minister (the late) Tan Sri Pehin Sri Adenan Satem and current Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg setting excellent examples on ‘unity in diversity’,” he told Bernama.
The leaders have nurtured racial harmony, even to the extent of using the state’s own immigration laws to ban divisive individuals, especially religious extremists, from entering the Land of the Hornbills.
“Of course, the ever-increasing cases of interracial marriages among Sarawakians have helped to promote harmony as it is common to find the same households celebrating Christmas, Gawai and Hari Raya,” he added.
A teacher, Ahmat Johari, said it is a practice in Sarawak for people to know as many ‘kaban belayan’, or relatives in the Iban language, as possible.
Ahmat, who is of Melanau/Iban parentage and has an Iban wife, said the ‘tusut’ or genealogy in the Iban community helps them to recognise their distant relatives.
He said this has expanded outside of the community due to interracial marriages and the people value their relatives regardless of their race or religion.
“This helps to unite different communities. So, those who come from outside should not try to badmouth one person in front of another person because those two people could be related to one another. Be careful, my friend. Otherwise, you will embarrass yourself,” he said in jest.
Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) councillor Sammy Ngelambai said apart from interracial marriages, food and songs also help to bring people closer.
“When a song like ‘Bekikis Bulu Betis’ was played during the Sarawak Day grand parade at Padang Merdeka in Kuching last July, all the parade participants started to dance poco-poco, showing their togetherness, living harmoniously with one another,” he said.
Nevertheless, Sammy said focus should be given to the younger generation to keep the bonds of unity and racial harmony strong for the sake of a better tomorrow not only for Sarawak but also for Malaysia as a whole.
His observation shows there has been a drop in activities that could gather together youngsters of different racial and religious backgrounds.
According to him, normally when an event is held, it tends to be dominated by youngsters from a certain community only.
“We should look very deeply into this. E-sports is famous these days and all youngsters play them. So why not organise many of those events for them so that they could get acquainted with one another, create understanding, and keep the unity alive forever?” he said. – BERNAMA
