A Little To The East (A Sabahan in KL)

Must be one reaaaaaaaaally long cable...

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:21:00 +0000

Was just surfing on Star Online when I stumbled on this:

Another example of how people just can't tell the difference. I don't think I need to say any more.

The full story, in case Star Online realises its mistake, goes like this:

Go-ahead for Sabah-Johor undersea electricity cable
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: At least 10,000 megawatts of electricity from the RM6bill-Bakun hydro-electric dam project in central Sarawak will be supplied to peninsula Malaysia so that every states there will have adequate and uninterrupted supply of power for households and industries.
The Cabinet has decided that the undersea-power transmission cable project between the southern tip of Sarawak and Johor must proceed so that energy from Bakun can be channeled via the bed of the South China Sea to Johor and then to the rest of peninsula Malaysia.
Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said the Cabinet during its recent meeting agreed that it would be better to undertake the undersea-power cable project rather than to continue building new power plants in the peninsula states.
''Over the long term, it will be more economical and viable to transmit power from Bakun to peninsula Malaysia even though the undersea-cable project would be very costly.
''This project will ensure that folks in peninsula Malaysia get constant and adequate supply of electricity at a rate that would be much better compared to what they will have to pay if we (Government) were to allow more power plants to be build in the states in the peninsula.
''The costs of having to build more power plants in peninsula states will be much more as compared to the costs of the undersea-cable project,'' he said when interviewed after presenting grants for minor projects at the Sarawak United People's Party here.
Chin said that the 10,000 MWs from Bakun should be enough to meet the needs of the whole of the peninsula, but stressed that the amount could be increased as and when the needs arise.
The great benefit of hydro-power is that it can be increased when needed, he said, pointing out that Sarawak itself will have an abundant source of hydro-power that will be enough to meet not just the nation's needs, but also the needs of regional countries.
Asked who will handle the undersea-cable project, Chin said a joint-venture would be undertaken by Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Sarawak Elctricity Board to carry out the job.
The cost of the undersea-cable project has not been finalised as yet, he said, adding that the rates at which power would be sold to the peninsula is also being worked out.
Bakun is expected to be operational by 2011.
''Sarawak will sell to Kalimantan, Sabah and even the southern Philippines as well because there will be much electricity to be generated not only from Bakun, but also from the other hydro-dams that will be build under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) project,'' he said.
Chin said Sarawak will have the capacity to generate electricity reserve of up to 28,000 Mws from the SCORE project.

_______

Tinggi tinggi Kinabalu... part 2

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:25:00 +0000

I know... I know... It's been ages since my last post. There's a reason for that.

I'll tell you all about it in another post.

This post is reserved for a little discovery I made three days ago.

And I'm going to share it with you guys.

Are you ready?

Okay, here goes.

Contrary to what most of us have been brought up to believe, Mount Kinabalu.... is not the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia.

In case you didn't get that, I'm gonna say it one more time.

Mount Kinabalu is not Southeast Asia's tallest mountain.

Takes a while for it to sink in, doesn't it?

Well, I felt the same way when a colleague of mine who is from India popped my bubble the other day.

And get this, Mt Kinabalu is not even second or third tallest in Southeast Asia.

If you go to Tourism Malaysia's website or Sutera Sanctuary's website, they'll tell you otherwise though.

On Tourism Malaysia's site, put your mouse on the Sabah map and see the description.

As for Sutera Sanctuary's, look out for the reference in the second paragraph.

Now go Google Mount Kinabalu and see what you get.

It's a conspiracy I tell you.

I wonder what else the Government is hiding from us.

Karaoke Kings...

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:23:00 +0000

I know Sabahans are known to be pretty good (okay, lemme rephrase that.... pretty enthusiastic... or comfortable... whatever) behind the mike, but I never knew it would be to this extent.

Check out this story from The Star:

Man killed over tussle for karaoke mic
By MUGUNTAN VANAR

SANDAKAN: A 23-year-old man who hogged the microphone at a karaoke outlet here was stabbed to death by irked fellow customers.

Abdul Sani Doli was stabbed by customers of a coffeeshop cum karaoke outlet at Lebuh Tiga here late Wednesday after a fight broke out with other customers following his refusal to give up the microphone as he continued to sing.

Abdul Sani and his assailants had argued over the microphone before it turned into an exchange of blows that spilled over into the street where the three assailants stabbed him.

Abdul Sani staggered a short distance before collapsing on the walkway in front of a machinery shop and died at about 11.55pm on Wednesday.

Sandakan district police chief Asst Comm Rosli Mohd Isa said police have classified the case as murder and two people have been detained to assist in the investigations.

Abdul Sani is believed to have suffered chest wounds. His body was sent to the Duchess of Kent Hospital for a post mortem.

Mat Salleh is....

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:31:00 +0000

A warrior?

A rebel?

A terrorist?

Well, if you happen to be in Malaysia from the 20th century onwards, he (or she) is a westerner.

Seriously, I can't make the connection here.

According to the history books, Mat Salleh was any one of the first three (depending on which side of history you read).

All I remember is he definitely had a bone to pick with the British during the late 19th century. (I'm not gonna give you a history lesson so you can go read up about it here and here. Oh, and here too.)

However, I am curious about how we ended up referring to (no offence to all westerners out there) "orang putihs" (literally, white people) using the name of someone who is considered a folk hero of sorts in Sabah. After all, we do have a street named after him so he must be important.

Come to think of it, do Sabahans refer to westerners as "Mat Sallehs" as well?

Hmmm... maybe not as often as referring to them as "orang putihs" but I can be wrong on that.

Anyway, googling around, I found the answer to my question. I'm not sure if it's true but hey, at least it's a good theory.

Apparently, during the colonial times when the people of this region knew very little about the languages of the west, an English-speaking person had called a bunch of partying caucasians "mad sailors" (because most caucasians at that time were, in fact, sailors).

The locals who heard that mispronounced it as "Mat Salleh" and this somehow stuck.

(You can read about the story here. Somebody even posed the question on Yahoo Answer.)

Now let me give it a shot.

Madsailormadsailormadsailormatsailormatsallormatsallermatsalleh......

Maybe they're right.

:-)

(disclaimer - this post is not meant to be offensive to anyone. The picture of the caucasian family is a random one obtained via Google)

Tinggi tinggi Kinabalu...

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Sat, 31 May 2008 14:49:00 +0000

This is probably familiar to most Sabahans out there.

And now for a different version of this song...

Happy Kaamatan people!

Stupidity...

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:53:00 +0000

It's not often that I blog about things just simply because they bug me.

My criteria for posting on this blog has always been this - STICK TO THE THEME! STICK TO THE THEME!

Well, actually I won't be breaking that rule this time... it still does relate to the theme, although it somehow becomes secondary to how stupid some people can be.

My story starts out like this...

I was at The Curve with my girlfriend and her mom and we happened to walk outside to the "park" section (if I may call it that) where SPCA was putting up dogs and cats and bunnies for adoption. I think there were various other pet-related stalls there too.

So there I was minding my own business looking at the furry little animals when this lady, probably in her 40s or so, walked up to me and tried to strike up a conversation.

At first I thought she was just one of the SPCA volunteers who were trying to gauge potential fosterers for the pets there.

The weird, or shall I say stupid, thing was the manner in which she tried to make small talk with me.

Her first question was if I was a student.

I was like "Does it matter what I do when I just wanna come look at some pets?"

Then she said she thought I was a student because I was wearing a cap, which apparently made me look younger. Riiiiight....

She then asked where we lived and whether I kept any pets at home. At this point I already feel uncomfortable with the barrage of questions.

I mean for crying out loud, I just wanted to have a look. If I start asking about the adoption procedures, then it's a different story coz that would mean I'm actually seriously thinking of adopting. But hell no, I haven't even had a good look at the pets!

I said I didn't keep any because I rented a room somewhere and then when she pressed on about where we lived, my girlfriend's mom just told her all three of us lived in different places - I live within the Klang Valley, my girlfriend's mom lives in a different state and my girlfriend works in another country.

Obviously, she wasn't paying much attention because she only latched on to the foreign country bit and started querying if we were foreigners.

It took a while before she got it into that thick head of hers that we were ALL Malaysians.

And then came the pitch - she said she wanted to show me something and proceeded to pass me some WWF brochure.

Now it becomes clear to me. She wasn't an SPCA volunteer. She's with one of those agencies that solicits funds for WWF.

Ok, fair enough, she wanted to see if I'd be interested in making donations to WWF. Why the hell didn't she say so in the first place??? Instead she had to "act" friendly and attempt to make small talk, which she failed miserably because she was extremely fake.

And guess what she asked me after handing me the brochure?

"Have you heard of WWF?"

Goodness, I was thinking to myself "Of course I've heard of WWF lady. What, you think I lived under a rock for the past two decades of my life or something?"

She then started probing to see if I'm already contributing to the fund or something like that.

I made the mistake of telling her that I have a relative who works for WWF and that this relative of mine tells me about their programs all the time.

Again, she asked where this relative of mine was based.

I told her that my relative was based in KK, and she gave me a look and said, "Oh... KK... that's so far..."

Annoyed that I already was, I disagreed and said KK's not that very far because I'm from there.

Whatever that came out of her mouth next really justifies why I set up this blog in the first place.
First, she was like "Oh... you're from KK, no wonder you look a bit different. People from there look different than people from here. Here people look very city-like. There, the people look like.. like..."

As she struggled to find her words, I said sarcastically... "like we're from the jungle right?"

And guess what, she agreed with me.

"Ya, people from Sarawak, you all look different... that's why... and you guys like to wear caps... more sporty..."

I was thinking to myself: "WTF, man? Which rock did YOU just crawled out from? Punyalah main bodoh kau..."

First, she couldn't even get the state right. I mean it's forgiveable if you mistake which state I'm from if I say I'm from Ranau or Sandakan or Tamparuli, but hello? KK? Kota Kinabalu? That's a capital you know?

Penang has its Georgetown, Perak has its Ipoh, Kedah has its Alor Star, Pahang has its Kuantan, Kelantan has its Kota Baru, etc....

Then, she had to go on and on about my cap. I was having a bad hair day... so sue me. I think people on THIS side of the country wear caps too, just like people from the OTHER side of the country where I'm from...

Finally, I decided I really couldn't take it anymore and just told her: "If you don't mind, I'd like to have a look at the animals now."

Gila eh.... I think this was just like the scenario in a documentary I saw that claimed Christianity was a sham. Before you start declaring that I'm the son of satan for even uttering Christianity and sham in the same sentence, don't get me wrong, I'm a Christian myself. I just like to keep an open mind.

Anyway, the guy in the documentary was pointing out how the age of the world was different scientifically as compared to the Bible and asked to explain the existence of dinosaur fossils.

One staunch Christian replied: "God put them there to test our faith."

The guy's reply? "I think God put you (the staunch Christian) here to test MY faith."

In my case, I seriously think God put that woman there to test mine.

Oh, and would you believe just about five minutes later she approached my girlfriend's mom again without realising she had already spoken to her?

Go figure...

Spotlight's on us!

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:30:00 +0000

Hey, guess what?

All eyes are on us again...

If all the speculations about the impending jumps are true, then I can see it now in the front pages of the newspapers...

SABAHANS JUMP!

*ribbit*

*ribbit*

Only in name....

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:28:00 +0000

The Malaysian Bar.

National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE).

National Union of Journalists (NUJ).

What do these three bodies have in common?

They are but a few examples of how the words "national" and "Malaysian" are misused in this day and age.

Why?

Well, all three of these organisations do not represent the people from their respective professions at a national level.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Malaysian Bar only represents lawyers practising in Peninsular Malaysia.

NUBE even states it very clearly on its website that it's a "national union representing workers in the banking and financial institutions in Peninsular Malaysia."

As for NUJ, it only has branches in Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd, Berita Harian Sdn Bhd, New Straits Times Press, The Sun Media Corporation, Star Publications, Nanyang Siang Pau, Sin Chew Jit Poh and Kwong Wah Yit Poh, all of which are peninsula-based.

For such big organisations, you'd think they'd come up with names that properly represents who and what they really represent.

Unfortunately, they must have overlooked this little detail, or rather, perhaps they overlooked entirely the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak once again.

After all, to this very day, there are people who still think Malaysia = Semenanjung Malaysia only and Sabahans and Sarawakians are "foreigners."

Heck, I remember one guy I met in the course of my work who referred to "an Indonesian, a Sarawakian, and a Peninsular Malaysian" as "orang Indon, orang Sarawak dan orang Malaysia."

Go figure.

Sabah is moving up!

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:42:00 +0000

Pesat membangun sudah negeri kita tau...

Why?

Because after years and years of encountering blackouts without batting an eye, we finally made it to the national news this time.

Of course, I gotta admit a state-wide blackout is quite major.

I remember we used to have candles and flashlights on hand all the time back home because you never know when a blackout just might hit.

Heck, when there was a massive blackout throughout the peninsula in the 90s (it hit the front pages of the national dailies), I remember asking: "Why the heck are they so worked up about? It's just a blackout, get over it!"

And hey, since we Sabahans (or at least those of us back home) are so worked up over it as well this time, guess that puts us on par with our peers in West Malaysia.

Pesat membangun sudah Sabah...

Jumper

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:28:00 +0000

No, I'm not talking about this movie...

I'm not talking about the song by this band either...

It actually has a little something more to do with this little fella...

It's been nearly a month since the 2008 Malaysian general election and yet, people are still talking about it.

Hey, what is there to NOT talk about? Barisan Nasional suffered it's biggest defeat and actually lost Penang, Perak, Selangor AND Kedah in addition to Kelantan.

And word is the political tsunami might not be over... people are talking about a second wave... and guess where the attention is focused upon?

East Malaysia! Or more specifically, Sabah!

Thanks to the infamous Kataks of 1994 (when PBS won 25 seats and formed the state government in Sabah only to have it crumble because 21 of its assemblymen defected to Barisan), now the Land Below The Wind is seen as the Land of the Kataks instead.

Despite it being 14 years ago, it is still fresh on everyone's mind. Heck, a colleague of mine immediately pinpointed Sabah when talking about possible defections to the "opposition" PKR-DAP-PAS pakatan rakyat (People's Pact) to topple the Barisan government.

And no matter how much assurances the Sabahan leaders give regarding their MPs' and assemblymen's unending loyalty, the still-ruling coalition (or at least its leaders) still seem a bit paranoid that the frogs might be in hiding.

Sabahan leaders right now are either being defensive because all eyes are on them to see if they jump under the circumstances OR actually agree with the notion that the Sabahan elected reps could jump ship anytime based on the past infamous defection.

Then we have the proposals from their peers in the peninsula to pass an anti-hopping law to prevent such defections.

A bit of irony here, as pointed out by various parties, as it was the Barisan Nasional that disagreed with such a law in the first place when PBS proposed it during the latters' time as an "opposition party."

And now, the Prime Minister himself wants to meet the Sabahan elected reps (and the Sarawakian ones too) to discuss how they could play a bigger role at the Federal level.

Let's see... I'm not an expert when it comes to political issues but shouldn't the Prime Minister have thought about that before he announced his Cabinet lineup, which didn't seem to have much changes in terms of representations from the East Malaysian states.

Think about it, it's like having a team of athletes from the entire country take part in a sporting event but sadly, many of them from the peninsula lost.

Yet when it was time to acknowledge the athletes, the ones who seemed to have brought back the most medals weren't given due recognition.

And then a couple of weeks later, the man at the top finally decides to ask the neglected winners what could be done for them.

Do you think the neglected winners will feel very grateful now with the sudden attention?

The next few weeks should be interesting. We'll get to see if there really are still any frogs in Sabah (and maybe Sarawak too).

You never know which coconut shell they might be hiding under.

You never know who the katak might be. At least I don't.

note to self: stop writing about politics...

In search of halia...

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:53:00 +0000

I know... I know... it's been... A LOOOOOOONG WHILE since I last posted.

Was SO tied up with work for the past couple of months that I had no more energy left to erm... entertain you guys. (I SO perasan kan... as if lah I have that many readers...)

Okay, okay, let me just tell you guys a story about this Sabahan friend of mine, who went to Giant in search of ginger. I couldn't stop laughing when she told us this story so let's hope I can tell this story online equally well.

Here goes....

My friend, let's call her Miss A, she went to a Giant hypermarket somewhere in the Klang Valley one day in search of ginger.

She searched and searched and search, but couldn't find the damn things.

Finally, Miss A went up to one of the employees at the hypermarket for assistance.

She asked (in her undisguised Sabahan accent): "Excuse me kak, mana halia?"

(For the uninformed, halia is the Malay word for ginger).

The lady employee, without batting an eye, replied in a Semenanjung accent: "Ah? Oh die tak kerje la hari ni." (Ah? Oh she's not working today).

I think my friend didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that moment.

If you think about it, it IS kinda funny how the Giant employee mistook "halia" for her colleague's name... Aliya maybe?

Heheh... the things we Sabahans go through in the peninsula... :-)

Same Words... Different Meanings (Update)

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:46:00 +0000

I did a little asking around with some of my Peninsula friends and a Sarawakian colleague.

One friend from Johor said "pantat" also means buttocks there. But then again, another friend from Johor said she always understood it to mean a woman's genitalia.

A Kelantanese friend said in that state, pantat also refers to the "bottom", not of a person, but of a wok or a pot.

Another friend from Selangor said that was so up north but around KL, it really does refer to a woman's poom poom.

My Sarawakian friend confirmed it means intercourse there.

As for the word "kelmarin", my Kelantanese friend pointed out that it also means "yesterday" up north, and that "semalam" is more specific in that it refers to "last night."

That means the "day before yesterday" definition only applies in the central region of the peninsula, and maybe the south too.

:-)

Distance... and how a Sabahan conveys it...

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:56:00 +0000

Sabahans have a unique way of letting people know just how near or far something or some place is.

Just listen to how they pronounce the words "sini" (here) or "sana" (there).

Here's a rough guide:

1. When a Sabahan simply says "sini", it means whatever he's referring to is quite near where he's at. (close by)

2. When he says "siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiini", it means he's either standing directly on top of it or pointing right at it. (extremely close by)

3. When he says "sana", it means it's quite a distance from where he's at. (further away)

4. But when he says "saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaana", be prepared to go a long way. (far, like reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally far).

Now, I only wonder who coined the expression "saaaaaana Ranau (a small town on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu)."

It's kind of a sarcastic come-back to people who ask you something you don't feel like answering (or when you just feel like annoying that person).

Something like this:

Q: Mana kau beli ni baju? (Where'd you get this outfit?)

A: Saaaaaaaaaaaaaana Ranau.

:-)

Gong Xi Fa Cai everybody!

Same words, different meanings....

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:32:00 +0000

I remember this was one of the first things a friend of mine pointed out when he came back to KK for holiday from studying in KL.

Be careful with the phrases that we love to use back home whenever we're in KL.

He told us the story about his good friend who was, one fine day, chatting with another friend of theirs.

"Good friend" thought that whatever "another friend" had said was outrageous.

Like how he (and many others back home) like to react, he just yelled out "Pantat kau lah!"

(Literally translated, at least to Sabahans, that means "Your butt lah.")

As soon as he had blurted that out, a friend of his from the peninsula quickly asked him to pipe down.

Whispering to him, the "peninsula friend" said: "Shhh... do you know what pantat means?"

"Good friend" obviously answered that it referred to the rear end.

However, "peninsula friend" said that was not the case, at least not in Peninsular Malaysia.

Apparently, "pantat" means another "end" for people West of the South China Sea.

It means a woman's, err... you know... Ummm.... (to quote Russell Peters) Her "poom poom."

Another friend of mine whom I think studied in Kuching or something had this to say about the same word.

Apparently, "pantat" means "to have sexual intercourse" in Sarawak.

I don't know how accurate these are but hey, that's what my friends told me.

That is one reason why I make a conscious effort NOT to ever use the phrase "pantat kau lah" anywhere outside of Sabah.

You never know how it might be interpreted in other parts of the country.

Another word I found that had a different meaning here in Peninsular Malaysia is "kelmarin."

It means "the day before yesterday" over here as opposed to "yesterday" back home in Sabah.

For "yesterday", the accepted word here in the peninsula is "semalam."

As far as I know, both "semalam" and "kelmarin" both mean the same thing back home.

I don't know about Sarawak though.

If you've read this far, then chances are I made the right choice leading off today's post with "pantat."

Had I started off with "kelmarin", I probably would have lost your interest by the fourth line.

Heheh... clever of me huh?

Fact or Myth: Sabahans are generally a corrupt lot.

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:51:00 +0000

So what do you think?

Is it true? Are Sabahans really that corrupt? Can Sabahans be bought that easily?

Okay, maybe the more appropriate question is this - Are Sabahans more corrupt than the average Malaysian?

Let's face it, which one of us haven't heard of people being given money to vote for a particular party during the elections?

Which one of us Sabahans haven't heard of that?

I wish there was a way that I could say that this was all a myth, an urban (and rural) legend, but judging from my own experience and from what I hear, it seems that it is a fact.

Sabahans do seem to be bought all the time. Sometimes they even ask to be bought, which makes things even worse.

I remember when I was back home for the 2004 general election. The elections had just concluded and this particular personality was voted into Parliament.

Well, during an event that I attended with a colleague of mine, this new YB's personal assistant stretched out her hand to shake mine, so I obliged.

Then, at the very last second, I realised there was a RM50 note in her palm (a thank you gesture on behalf of her boss perhaps?), so I quickly brushed her hand away.

Guess what was her reaction?

Thinking that I was from the peninsula, she said: "Kau dari KL bah kan? Ini biasa ni di sini. Ambil saja lah."

At that moment in time, I felt sticking my head into the ground. I felt ashamed because people like this had created a stereotype for "outsiders" to label Sabahans.

For those of you who follow the news, you'll also remember that our Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam became the first (or one of the first) serving federal minister to be charged with corruption just before the 2004 general election.

Around the same time, Datuk Wasli Said was also charged.

The timing couldn't be better, right?

It was just months after Pak Lah had pledged to the people when he took office as Prime Minister that he would eradicate corruption.

Who better to use to set an example than a couple of Sabahans.

With the general election reportedly just around the corner, chances are a lot of Sabahans would probably be put in a situation where they should ask themselves this - Am I that cheap? Do I wanna vote this person to Parliament or the State Assembly because he (or his people) paid me to?

Or am I voting for him because I think he can do work for the people?

Well, I did say "should ask themselves." Whether they do or not when the object of temptation is set before them is another matter altogether.

Sunset in North Borneo...

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:48:00 +0000

Ahhh... it's good to be home...

Where the beach is just a few minutes' drive away...

Where I can just relax and do nothing...

And sleep until noon everyday (although I should stop doing that).

It's funny how sunsets can make people just stop in their tracks.

How it makes people stop whatever it is that they're doing just so that they could have a look at the sun slowly sink into the sea... those few seconds that separate day from night.

Of course, nowadays everybody is armed with either a digital camera or a camera phone to capture these moments.

Here's one I caught on Boxing Day on my phone.

Thought I'd share it with you all.

Have a Merry Christmas everybody!

And here's to a happier, better New Year!

To my Peninsular Malaysian friends and readers....

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:56:00 +0000

Of late, I seem to have gotten a little carried away with my views and comments.

My last few postings probably seemed a bit anti-West Malaysians.

For that, I'd like to apologize to you, you and you if I've offended you or if I've used unappropriate words.

Part of the aim of this blog is to help us understand each other a little better. I need to keep reminding myself that and not just shoot off with some extremist view of things.

For the record, I've nothing personal against people in the peninsula. I have many friends here, many of them really good friends.

And of course, my girlfriend is also a West Malaysian.

So... my apologies again if I've offended you when expressing my views and opinions!

Bah...

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:45:00 +0000

Simple, yet diverse.

This is probably one of the most common words used by Sabahans.

And no, it's not just when we speak Malay but even English as well.

It's one of those words that makes a Sabahan feel right at home when he hears it while waiting for his flight home at the airport or even in a "foreign" place like West Malaysia. ;-)

But surprisingly, no one seems to know how this little word came about. No one really knows its origins.

Heck, I'm not even sure whether it can be considered a word. Maybe half a word.

Something like "lah", but not quite the same.

(Is "lah" a word?)

Actually, it can be used together with a "lah".

How do we use it? Aha! That's the big mystery.

Ask any Sabahan and he probably wouldn't be able to teach you how despite being able to roll it naturally off his tongue in every other sentence.

It can be used to emphasize something, eg "Saya tidak marah bah" or "I'm not angry bah."

It can be used to "soften" a sentence, eg "Jangan lah bah kau marah" or "Don't lah bah get angry."

Used on its own, it can also mean "okay", as in: "Bah, nanti lah saya datang" or "Bah, later lah I come over."

While it's not really something that can be taught to a non-Sabahan, it can be picked up.

Of course, not many people can really, reaaally pick it up and use it in all the right places to be able to pass himself off as a Sabahan.

One guy I met who worked several years in Sabah tried to show off his mastery of it.

If you hear him speak in the beginning, you'll notice he pretty much got the hang of it. But once he keeps on speaking and using the "bah" in his sentences, you start to catch his mistake.

In his effort to show off, he over-used it.

Ah well, I'll give him points for effort.

There are some people who insist on going "Sabah bah..." whenever I tell them I'm from Sabah.

While this might seem cute to them, most Sabahans find this a little annoying.

I don't know why, but maybe we feel a bit patronised when people try to imitate us but end up getting it all wrong.

The worst ones are those who actually say "Sabah bah?" in a questioning manner.

That is SO wrong coz as far as I can remember, "bah" is never used in questions like that. At least not at the end of the sentence.

I think the only time it's used in a sentence is when you wanna soften a sentence by saying things like "Macam mana bah kau punya kerja ini?"

Which brings me to this...

I think a while ago, some of the deejays at Hitz.fm called up Che'Nelle and asked her to "show proof" that she was born in Sabah, Malaysia.

Her reply was (if I'm correct): "Apa khabar bah..."

I assume that while she wanted to show that she was from Malaysia by saying "Apa khabar", she also wanted to add in the Sabahan part of her by adding "bah" to that.

The problem is now the deejays as well as their listeners think Sabahans actually greet people like that, by saying "Apa khabar bah", which is totally not true.

What Che'Nelle said was a statement; she wasn't asking the deejays how they were doing.

So, my dear Peninsular Malaysian friends, the next time you meet a Sabahan, I strongly advise you against trying to be smart and saying things like "Oh, you from Sabah bah" or "Apa khabar bah."

You'll end up being stared in a weird way if you do. O_o

The singer vs the space tourist....

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:44:00 +0000

This topic is purely accidental.

I was google-ing Che'Nelle's song "I fell in love with a deejay" just now because I was trying to find out how to spell her name.

I wanted to post something else that involved her you see but I guess that'll have to wait.

After google-ing the song title, I stumbled onto the Youtube page featuring the song and started scrolling through the comments posted there.

Scroll scroll scroll.... and guess what I found?

This:

____

ppppesaaaa (1 week ago)
alah!!! nak bangga buat menda..bukan dia yang naik kat atas langit i mean ISS..tadek jasa pon untuk negara...kalau nak cakap orang sabah best pon tak jugak..orang dayak mana sesuai nak menyanyi..melalak dalam hutan boleh laaa.ramai artis malaysia lagi best dr budak nih...cuma diorang nih tak stay kay luar negara..budak nih jadi popular sbb dia dok oversea..orang luar nampak talant dia..

____

Let me first go on record to say I'm not a fan of Che'Nelle.

Sure she's a Sabahan, sure she's attractive , sure she's got a nice voice and knows how to sing.

I think her song sounds good, especially when you're partying away to it in clubs.

But hey, I'm not much of a clubbing person so I guess that's why I'm not ecstatic over it. That's why I can't say I'm a fan of hers.

But when I saw that comment on Youtube, I got cheezed off. As in REALLY cheezed off.

Not only was this clown dissing Che'Nelle, but he was dissing every Sabahan as well. I can't take that lying down now, can I?

See, I don't get why the clown who posted this (a West Malaysian no doubt, most likely Malay - I'll tell you why I'm so sure of this later) had to attack the entire state of Sabah just because he (or she) didn't think Che'Nelle is good enough.

This clown seems to think that just because someone had "naik kat atas langit", that means he's all that. I suppose that makes you berjasa kepada negara la.

Well, sure... jasa indeed.... if spending a few million (or was it billion) ringgit to become a space tourist is considered berjasa.

Instead of spending the tax payers money on something that makes a difference to the lives of Malaysians like making sure the public delivery system is efficient or pave the pothole-ridden roads, the millions and millions of ringgit get channeled to satisfying our egos as citizens of Boleh-land.

(As I write this, I think the Government is actually considering spending some MORE money on acquiring the space craft that our beloved space tourist was on.)

I don't have anything against our beloved Angkasawan. It's just that our government seems to be more pre-occupied with trying to convince people that we're sending a full-fledged astronaut up there to the ISS, when clearly we were not.

One live feed that they showed on Astro had me laughing non-stop.

Here was our beloved Angkasawan posing with the rest of the crew and all he could do was start shaking his hips around like he was playing a hula hoop up in space.

All this on live national (ahem, should I say international just to stroke our Boleh ego again) television.

Although I can't confirm this, I heard our Science, Technology and Innovation Minister also made a fool of himself when he mistook Louis Armstrong as the first man on the moon.

"What a wonderful world" indeed if this is true.

I don't know what that clown, ppppesaaaa, was thinking when he wrote that comment but maybe this'll open his eyes a bit.

Eh wait, stupidity has nothing to do with the eyes.

Anyway, this clown should get his facts right before he started posting comments on the internet.

Dayaks are found in Sarawak, not Sabah. And yes, we are two different states although I doubt you, ppppesaaaa, have enough IQ to tell the difference.

And guess what ppppesaaaa, Che'Nelle didn't really have to "dok oversea" for "orang luar" to "nampak talant dia.."

"Orang luar nampak talant dia" on her MySpace page.

I have no idea what "melalak" means but hey, as a Sabahan, I 'm proud that my state still has hutans (even though there are parties who are trying to strip that away from us).

And as for the other Malaysian artistes who are "lagi best dr budak nih", by all means show the world what you can do. Talk is cheap.

As for you ppppesaaaa, go crawl back under the rock that you came from. You belong there.

Keep making music Che'Nelle! The world is listening... and a lot of them are Sabahans who are proud of you. Very proud of you...

Size... matters?

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:36:00 +0000

Take a look at this map of Malaysia which I stumbled upon at the Kuala Terengganu airport.

Notice anything weird about it?

Maybe this is not such a good example.

Try this next one, which was published on the front page of a national English daily.

Notice anything yet? No?

Okay, now try this little billboard. Look for the Malaysian map on it.

Here's a close-up:

Get my point yet?

Such misrepresentations - Sabah and Sarawak being made to look smaller than Peninsular Malaysia - are everywhere.

Would you believe there are even some people who think distorted maps like these represent reality?

A friend of mine from Pahang once claimed her state was bigger than Sabah.

This was until I pointed out to her that Sabah is the second largest state in Malaysia, with the largest being Sarawak, and that Pahang is only the largest state in the peninsula.

While we're at it, let's have a little geographical facts about Malaysia:

According to VirtualMalaysia, Malaysia has a total area of 329, 847 sq km.

I can't find the total area of Peninsular Malaysia or East Malaysia anywhere on the site so let's do some math using some information from Wikipedia.

Wikipedia says Sarawak has a total area of 124, 450 sq km while Sabah has a total area of 76, 115 sq km.

So that means East Malaysia as a whole covers a total area of 200, 565 sq km.

That leaves Peninsular Malaysia with 129, 282 sq km.

Now compare the sizes of Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia... quite close no?

Then how is it that some idiots can still screw it up when they draw the maps?

If you wanna enlarge the peninsula for some reason, then put a bloody disclaimer there to say that the map is EXAGGERATED!

Otherwise, it's MISLEADING!

And sometimes it's not just the maps...

Ever hear commercials that go: "We have branches nationwide" and when you check, they only have branches in the peninsula?

Or the ones that go, "Available throughout Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak."

Does that mean Sabah and Sarawak are not included when they say "throughout Malaysia?"

Granted, the only people who realise these things (and get offended by them) are the East Malaysians.

The reason is probably this: Our part of the country is being belittled literally.

And you wanna know the saddest part about all this?

These "crimes" are not just committed by private companies. The Government is equally guilty.

Just look at these maps on Tourism Malaysia's website.

In its Map Resources page, this is what the map of Malaysia looks like.

And then, they have a "detailed map" of Malaysia that looks like this.

You even find something similar in the Prime Minister's Office's website under "States of Malaysia."

Is the East side of the country that much of a threat to the West that it has to have its size reduced to accommodate the West?

Is it not bad enough that Sabah and Sarawak are referred to as the "less developed states" in VirtualMalaysia?

Until these mistakes are corrected, I think there can never be any true equality in this country of ours.

And we haven't even touched on the racial topic yet.

Driving in the Peninsula....

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:01:00 +0000

They say a yawn is contagious.

Apparently so is stupidity. Okay, maybe I'm being a little harsh. A more appropriate word might be ignorance.

I was driving back to KL on the North-South Expressway after going out of town for the Raya weekend.

My journey started around 6pm and of all the luck, it had to rain. REALLY heavy at certain parts.

I think the weather took a lot of people by surprise because there were several accidents along my journey back for both sides of the highway.

Anyway, with the heavy rain, some idiots just had to turn on their hazard lights.

It's really outrageous how these people expect everyone around them to be mind-readers; as it is, it's already hard enough to see in the heavy rain, now we have to guess where these idiots are going since both their left AND right indicators are on.

And just when u see ONE car with their hazard lights on, suddenly another idiot who sees this decides to follow suit.

One particular car (it had a Singaporean plate; no offence to you people down south!) was so indecisive that the driver first decided to turn on his (or her) hazard lights upon seeing another idiot who turned on his (or hers).

And moments later, for some reason, he decides to turn it off.

And then much later, lo and behold, he turned his hazard lights on again!

The only consolation yesterday was probably when I flashed my high beam at this Johor-registered car in front of me who had his hazard lights on.

Instead of veering left immediately to give way, he actually thought of turning off his hazard lights first before turning his left indicator on to go to the left lane.

Of course, one possible factor could be because he had to overtake an express bus. He probably was smart enough to think about not wanting to become another statistic.

Another thing that really got to me was this - idiots who leave their lights on high beam throughout their drive.

I really think these people are the most inconsiderable drivers and should be banned from driving. Not only is this a pain for oncoming vehicles, those in front of these idiots are also on the receiving end of their inconsiderable act.

Whenever I encounter these idiots, I really wish I had spotlights installed on my car facing the back so that I could just give them a taste of their own medicine (and probably blind them in the process).

Seriously, driving in West Malaysia really makes a person more aggresive. No wonder there are so many cases of road rage, just look at all these idiots on the road!

You have:

a) the idiots who turn on their hazard lights in the rain, expecting everyone to guess when they're gonna turn left or right.

b) the idiots who leave their headlights on high beam, blinding everyone in their path

c) the idiots who tailgate you like mad and flash their high beam at you to tell you to get out of their way knowing well that there's an express bus or trailer on the left.

d) the idiots who tailgate you anyway when you're on the left lane.

Heck these are just some of the reasons why I find it much more relaxing to drive back home in Sabah.

To all of you drivers out there, especially those taking long drives during this Raya season, don't be stupid...err, I mean ignorant.

Selamat Hari Raya! Maaf Zahir Batin....

Easy come... easy go...

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:08:00 +0000

Well, there goes the whole Malaysia Day thing.

Read here.

:-S

A start?

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:36:00 +0000

I think we're starting to get noticed now with the whole Sept 16 Malaysia Day thing.

Just look at these stories:

The Star

New Straits Times

(Hope the links work!)

Leave it to a Penangite to make the suggestion huh.... Three cheers to you Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon!

Malaysia is 44, not 50.

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 15:14:00 +0000

Contrary to what many West Malaysians like to believe, Sabah and Sarawak did not JOIN Malaysia, at least not to the eyes of Sabahan and Sarawakians.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe history states that Malaysia came into being in 1963 when the then independent Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore formed a 14-state federation.

(Singapore eventually came out of the federation two years later and became an independent country of its own.)

And if you noticed, the "birth" of Malaysia is not celebrated on Aug 31 every year.

Aug 31 is actually the Independence Day of Malaya which, probably for convenience's sake, is celebrated as the "independence" of Malaysia as well.

The real "birthday" of Malaysia is actually today - Sept 16.

It's surprising to note that this day is not given much prominence in most parts of the country.

In Sabah, Sept 16 is actually a public holiday because it's also the official birthday of the Tuan-Yang-Terutama or Yang-Dipertua Negeri (the state governor).

Whether this "official birthday" was fixed on Sept 16 intentionally or not, I don't know.

For some reason, I have the impression that more Sabahans and Sarawakians are aware of the fact that Sept 16 is "Malaysia Day."

Let's hope I'm wrong about this.

Whatever it is, don't just take my word for all of this because history is not one of my finer points. Go read up on it or something.

Anyway, happy 44th birthday Malaysia! Sorry most Malaysians are getting your age wrong!

(ps. dear readers, sorry for the lack of updates. Been a little tied up at work and some other stuff for the past few months. A little consolation is I'm always trying to source for new topics and material. Do email me if you have a suggestion or an experience to share. ;-)

Bonus Section!

Compare the two flags below and see if you know what's the difference and what it means.

The top flag is the Jalur Gemilang, the Malaysian flag as we know it today.

The one below is a reproduction of the pre-1963 flag of Malaya by wikipedia based on its official descriptions.

Malaysian....Today?

noreply@blogger.com (The Sabahan) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:55:00 +0000

It's ironic how despite being the two largest states in the country, my home Sabah and our neighbour Sarawak remain so insignificant to West Malaysians. I mean think about it... how often do you hear people mistaking Pahang for Johor, or Kedah for Kelantan, or Malacca for Negri Sembilan?

Certainly not as often as people mistaking Sabah for Sarawak, or vice versa.

Which brings me to my topic for today.

I was having dinner at Burger King just now when I picked up a copy of Malaysian Today, a paper that I don't read often but which I think is quite safe for me to call a "weekly sports and lifestyle paper." (correct me if I'm wrong)

Anyway, I turned to page three (there's an online version at http://www.malaysiantoday.com.my/ as well) and went through the "Week in Review" column which pretty much selects certain news items from the mainstream papers in the past week. Then, when I finally reached the news item in the middle of the page, once again, the KL-based paper made the ever popular boo-boo that I've just mentioned.

Here, see for yourself:

And for a close up:

Now compare that with what The Star wrote on Sunday (which subsequently had several follow-ups a couple of days later). The heading and the first two paras read as follows:

Youths languishing in prison for minor offences
By LOH FOON FONG, M. MAGESWARI and RASHVINJEET S. BEDI

KUALA LUMPUR: A 19-year-old youth from Sabah has been languishing in prison for six months because his single mother is unable to post the court bail of RM1,000.

For his offence of not carrying his MyKad, Jeff Lee Kwong Yeung faces a fine of between RM3,000 and RM20,000 but his case has been postponed several times since he was first charged in court on Feb 5.

(for the full story. click here - hope the link still works).

Do you see it?

Here's another picture just to make things clearer:

So there you go... a perfectly simple story about a 19-year-old youth from Sabah being transformed into a Sarawakian overnight. So much for being "Malaysians today" huh?

And the usual excuses that I get when I point this out?

"Aiya... Sabah, Sarawak all the same la..."

"You guys are a different 'country' anyway."

Jokes? Perhaps...

Truths? not really, but some might argue that they are.

Reality? Here's the reality... we're celebrating our country's 50th birthday this month. This just illustrates how much we really know about one another.

And I'm not just single-ing out Peninsular Malaysians... I think many Sabahans and Sarawakians are pretty ignorant about each other and the peninsula as well.

This writer included.

Again, that's why I decided to start this blog in the first place... to cast away or explain the stereotypes that Sabahans face (and vent out our frustrations as well... hehehe). I think of this as my little contribution towards national unity (or national divide depending how you look at it ;-P ).

But let's be optimistic. It's good to laugh at ourselves and each other once in a while.

As for Malaysian Today, keep up the good work and try not to repeat mistakes like this again. Being a paper bearing the name "Malaysian Today", the burden is greater on you to make sure you get things right about this country of ours. But I must say, you guys have a nice e-paper there.

To everyone, selamat bulan kemerdekaan!