Do It Like a Sabahan
How many of you fellow Malaysians have been to at least once in East Malaysia or in particular Sabah? I have been there and her several cities like Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau and a few other small cities several times since. And each time I got there, I will get the same feeling, people there are seriously united. They will communicate with each other using this "heavy accent" ending with a "Bah". Even though they are Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or others, they will speak similarly. Â
To my fellow Malaysians whom never stepped foot in East Malaysia, I suggest you plan your holidays there. Instead of planning an outing or holidays in other countries, do so to East Malaysia or in particularly Sabah and I can assure you it will be a worthwhile trip.
Being born in Penang, later being educated in Kuala Lumpur and started working in Johor Bahru, I got used to the fact that if I wanted to look for food to eat, I will have to go to a "Mamak" restaurant, Malay restaurant or any fast food outlet ie: McDonalds, KFC and a few others. Going to any Chinese or Indian restaurant won't even cross my mind as the food there is not "halal".
I could remember clearly the very first time I went to Sabah, when it was time for breakfast, my friend a Sabahan and also a Muslim, brought me to this typical Chinese looking restaurant we normally see around us every day in Peninsular Malaysia. Over here, in the Peninsular, it is obvious that I, as a Muslim won't be able to eat the food there because of the "halal" factor.
To my surprise, the patrons there in that Chinese looking restaurant were mostly Muslims. The food served was normal "nasi lemak" and a lot of Chinese cuisines. I was quite skeptical at first when I tried to get an assurance from the owner of the restaurant himself. And he proudly said: "We Sabahans understand each other well."
Thinking that the morning scene in the Chinese restaurant was a coincidence, I suggested to my friend to have lunch in another Chinese restaurant instead. And true enough the scenery in that another Chinese restaurant was similar to the one in the morning in where most of the patrons were Muslims. At night, it was time for a "feel" of the night life in Tawau, Sabah and we went to one of the most popular "Dangdut" outlets there. To my surprise again, there were many Chinese people patronising the area. Normally here in the Peninsular, "Dangdut" outlets are normally filled with Malay people.
There is a Chinese proverb: "we are what we eat" truly represents the people of Sabah. When it comes to food, Sabahans had already shown us the true meaning of unity in terms of a simple meal. Whether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner or even supper, they are united as a nation when indeed, they eat at a same table.
With the widespread of Internet access available throughout Malaysia and the vast information that it provides us, sometimes we just forget the basics of being a true united nation. When we look into websites like Youtube or Facebook, there are no censorship boards controlling what some Malaysian will write slurring each other based on race or religion. The freedom of speech that we have is no longer appreciated and we just write something without even thinking of the repercussions of what we write. We have forgotten how far we had come to be this mature as a nation today. It is so easy to slur another person, another religion or another race these days with the access of the Internet. But, is this what we want to do as a responsible citizen of Malaysia?
Just in case you don't understand the meaning of 1Malaysia, and how the Government is trying to educate us about our unity, it is better we look back at the basics of a nation build-up. And the way to start is to look at how the Sabahans do it in the sense of unity and in the spirit of 1Malaysia. Or do we really understand each other?
How many of you fellow Malaysians have been to at least once in East Malaysia or in particular Sabah? I have been there and her several cities like Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau and a few other small cities several times since. And each time I got there, I will get the same feeling, people there are seriously united. They will communicate with each other using this "heavy accent" ending with a "Bah". Even though they are Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or others, they will speak similarly. Â
To my fellow Malaysians whom never stepped foot in East Malaysia, I suggest you plan your holidays there. Instead of planning an outing or holidays in other countries, do so to East Malaysia or in particularly Sabah and I can assure you it will be a worthwhile trip.
Being born in Penang, later being educated in Kuala Lumpur and started working in Johor Bahru, I got used to the fact that if I wanted to look for food to eat, I will have to go to a "Mamak" restaurant, Malay restaurant or any fast food outlet ie: McDonalds, KFC and a few others. Going to any Chinese or Indian restaurant won't even cross my mind as the food there is not "halal".
I could remember clearly the very first time I went to Sabah, when it was time for breakfast, my friend a Sabahan and also a Muslim, brought me to this typical Chinese looking restaurant we normally see around us every day in Peninsular Malaysia. Over here, in the Peninsular, it is obvious that I, as a Muslim won't be able to eat the food there because of the "halal" factor.
To my surprise, the patrons there in that Chinese looking restaurant were mostly Muslims. The food served was normal "nasi lemak" and a lot of Chinese cuisines. I was quite skeptical at first when I tried to get an assurance from the owner of the restaurant himself. And he proudly said: "We Sabahans understand each other well."
Thinking that the morning scene in the Chinese restaurant was a coincidence, I suggested to my friend to have lunch in another Chinese restaurant instead. And true enough the scenery in that another Chinese restaurant was similar to the one in the morning in where most of the patrons were Muslims. At night, it was time for a "feel" of the night life in Tawau, Sabah and we went to one of the most popular "Dangdut" outlets there. To my surprise again, there were many Chinese people patronising the area. Normally here in the Peninsular, "Dangdut" outlets are normally filled with Malay people.
There is a Chinese proverb: "we are what we eat" truly represents the people of Sabah. When it comes to food, Sabahans had already shown us the true meaning of unity in terms of a simple meal. Whether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner or even supper, they are united as a nation when indeed, they eat at a same table.
With the widespread of Internet access available throughout Malaysia and the vast information that it provides us, sometimes we just forget the basics of being a true united nation. When we look into websites like Youtube or Facebook, there are no censorship boards controlling what some Malaysian will write slurring each other based on race or religion. The freedom of speech that we have is no longer appreciated and we just write something without even thinking of the repercussions of what we write. We have forgotten how far we had come to be this mature as a nation today. It is so easy to slur another person, another religion or another race these days with the access of the Internet. But, is this what we want to do as a responsible citizen of Malaysia?
Just in case you don't understand the meaning of 1Malaysia, and how the Government is trying to educate us about our unity, it is better we look back at the basics of a nation build-up. And the way to start is to look at how the Sabahans do it in the sense of unity and in the spirit of 1Malaysia. Or do we really understand each other?