Sunset in North Borneo...

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....

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...

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....

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?

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....

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...

Well, there goes the whole Malaysia Day thing.

Read here.

:-S

A start?

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.

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?

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!

I'm Chinese... or am I?

To the people in the peninsula, I'm just about as Chinese as Chinese can be.... appearance-wise that is...

I can speak a bit of Cantonese, a bit of Mandarin and then there's Hakka, which is widely spoken back home in KK.

Some people even think I'm Chinese educated... which I am NOT! I'm a pretty much a banana - yellow on the outside, white on the inside.

(Actually have a friend who's completely the opposite - speaks fluent English with an American accent, even speaks Chinese with a bit of "gwai lou" accent, only to turn out to be VERY Chinese educated.)

Then I tell them I'm from Sabah... AND PEOPLE START DOUBTING WHETHER I ACTUALLY AM CHINESE!

No matter what race they are, be they Malay, Chinese or Indian, they will start asking me if I'm a Kadazan or Dusun or something.

The more ignorant ones will actually ask if any part of me is Iban (for the misinformed lot, Ibans are found in Sarawak, our neighbours, not in Sabah).

That despite knowing that I have a Chinese name.

Ah well, I guess that's the beauty of Sabah.

You can never tell for sure what we are.

We're that Muhibbah bah....

;-)

Distance... to a West Malaysian

Okay, this is gonna be one of those "bash them West Malaysians" entry so those of you who can't stomach it, you have been warned!

Whenever someone ask me where I'm from, I usually ask them to guess, giving them the hint that it's very far.

I did this again last week, and this guy just started guessing: Kedah?

I told him it was further.

His next guesses were: "Perlis? Kelantan?"

Then I said even further.

Of all places, he answered Johor (is Johor further from KL than Perlis really?).

Only when I said the furthest state from here (KL) did he finally answer: "Sabah?"

Sah lah. Sabah (and Sarawak) are the forgotten states of Malaysia.

OH... and this friend of mine from Johor was so defensive that day when he read that helicopters were needed for General Election at his state, which kinda lumped it up together with Sabah and Sarawak.

Sheesh man... what's wrong with being put in the same league as Sabah and Sarawak? You should feel honoured, friend.

Beaufort - is it "bow"-fert or beew-fort?

Okay,

quiz time.

Is it bow-fert or beew-fort?

The typical Sabahan will say "bow-fort" but I think the right pronunciation is bow-fert coz beau on it's own is pronounced "bow."

But then, some insist it's beew-fort ("beau" pronounced as in beautiful)

So which is it?

In the mean time, maybe I should go sing... You're bow-tiful......... you're bow-tiful........ you're bow-tiful, it's true... (sung to the tune of that oh-so-annoying James Blunt song...)

We're not Singaporeans!!!

If you see a Licence plate that goes SAA 2222 D, SK 2222, SD 2222, SS 2222, ST 2222, SU 2222 or SB 2222, please keep this in mind: IT'S NOT A SINGAPOREAN CAR!!!

It's a Sabah-registered plate.

And the second alphabet actually refers to particular region in Sabah too:

SAA (or SA if it's an older car.... they ran out of numbers so they had to add another A to the original SA): Kota Kinabalu.

SK: Kudat

SD: Lahad Datu

SS: Sandakan

ST: Tawau

SU: Keningau

SB: Beaufort

(SL / LA refers to Labuan registered cars but Labuan is a Federal Territory, no longer Sabah land; SL are the older plates. LA are the newer plates; actually I think there are LB and LC plates from Labuan around too)

I think Singaporean plates are all SFF, SGF, etc.... (starts with S... three letters... I think the older plates are like SAF 2222 or something like that)

When it doubt, just look at the size of the fonts on the licence plate. They're bigger if they're from Singapore...

Sooooooooo.... the next time you see a licence plate that starts with "S", remember, it probably isn't a Singaporean car!!!

A Place of Punishment?

Is East Malaysia a place of punishment? Is it a place where someone is transferred to when he or she is being put into cold storage?

Judging by the responses of most Peninsula Malaysians when it comes to transfers and university entries, that answer is yes.

A few days ago, I had a chat with some friends of mine about the fate of L/Kpl Rohaniza Roslan, the ex-girlfriend of one of the accused in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial.

We were debating how much trouble she was in after she told the court that she was put under all sorts of pressure by her comrades in the police force into giving a statement against her then boyfriend C/Insp Azilah. (for more info on Rohaniza's testimony, please go to any one of the Malaysian news sites with coverage on this trial)

Anyway, I was just saying how she'd probably lose her job after this case since she painted the police force (in particular the D9 - serious crimes division) in such a bad light.

However, one of my friends suggested that it probably won't be that easy to fire her as there was probably all sorts of bureaucracy that the force had to go through before being able to do that.

My other friend (a KL-ite / PJ resident) then said maybe it was easier to just transfer her to Sabah or Sarawak.

Hmmm.... does that mean if you want to punish someone, all you gotta do is send him or her to Sabah or Sarawak?

Is East Malaysia that bad, seriously?

Judging by comments like these, maybe Sabah and Sarawak really does seem nightmarish for the average West Malaysian.

Just read the papers whenever university entries are announced. Oh, and don't forget the postings of schoolteachers.

A LOT (I say a lot because there might be some, just SOME, who actually want to go to East Malaysia voluntarily) of Peninsula Malaysians dread the thought of being sent to Sabah or Sarawak.

And as I understand it, distance is not really the reason.

Probably because many still think Borneoans still live in trees over there.

(okay, that's stretching it too much, but you get my drift - the East is not as "developed").

Well, to all those who still feel that way about my home state, I humbly invite you to come visit the Land Below The Wind to be the judge yourself.

Many West Malaysians I've met who have gone to Sabah either to work or for vacation seems to think it's a great place to be.

Some even describe it as Paradise.

I call it home.

Boss!

If you ever go to Sabah, or just happen to stumble upon a gathering of Sabahans, chances are you'll hear everyone (especially among the men; sometimes even among the women) greet each other as "boss."

This doesn't mean one of them is actually the other's real boss, although sometimes they really are.

I'm not sure if "term of endearment" is the right phrase to use to describe this.

Sure, friends call each other that but when it comes to strangers, or simply people whose name you forgot, the term "boss" really does come in handy to break the ice. I guess you can sort of compare it with "bang" (as in short for abang, which means brother for you non-Bahasa Malaysia speaking folks) in the peninsula.

One of the first things I was told by my friend (who is a Petaling Jaya boy) when I set foot here four years ago is that in the peninsula, you address people like security guards, bus drivers and conductors, taxi drivers and other strangers whose names you do not know as "bang", pretty much the same way we use "boss" in Sabah.

Of course, that doesn't mean Peninsular Malaysians don't use the term "boss" as well. They do. I've noticed people calling the waiter at the mamak restaurant "boss" as well so now it's starting to become a grey area.

I guess the obvious difference now is the frequency in which Sabahans use the term "boss".

Then again, there's also another Sabahan meaning of "boss".

In Sabah, "boss"also means father.

So if you hear school-going teenagers ask each other, "macam mana boss kau?"they're actually referring to their their dads.

In some circles, the term "beliau" is also used to refer to fathers.

eg. "Beliau kau sihat?"

For mothers, it's "ma'am."

eg. "Ma'am kau yang hantar kau kah?"

I'm not sure whether this is restricted to just Kota Kinabalu or what so if anyone from another part of Sabah can confirm it, just email me or leave a comment. =)

Anyway, before I stray from the "boss" topic completely, I just wanna share this little story about my high school biology teacher, who was a firm believer and advocate of science (a bit of an ultra if you ask me... heheh... )

Anyway, one day, she decided to tell the whole class about how she hated it when people called her boss.

The reason is simple: the scientific name for gaurs (a large, dark-coated ox of South Asia and South-East Asia) is Bos gaurus.

She just refused to be referred to as an ox that looks like this (snapped this pic in Zoo Negara):

But judging by her own size, I think most of my classmates thinks she's a cow anyway.

If I ever bump into her, I should just call her "boss"... just to smite her....

Hehehe...

KL = Peninsular Malaysia

My girlfriend, who is from the peninsula, suggested that I be fair and write about the stereotypes of Sabahans that are actually true too.

Well, it's only fair so here goes...

A lot of Sabahan have the idea that KL and Peninsular Malaysia are one and the same. That means if you tell them you're from somewhere like Perak or Malacca or Penang, chances are they'll call you orang KL anyway.

I don't know why it's like this. Heck even my mother has the same misconception sometimes and I usually have to correct her.

I have a theory about why this is so though...

Maybe a lot of Sabahans take it for granted and assume that the peninsula is one giant state too.

I mean think about it. The peninsula is around the size of Sarawak. Sabah itself is bigger than any other states in West Malaysia.

(actually speaking of sizes of the states, this is another topic altogether which I'll probably blog about in future)

So that could be the reason why.

Oh, and I didn't make the whole KL = Peninsular Malaysia equation up. In fact, it was a Punjabi colleague of mine (who happens to have a Sabahan wife) who told me about his experience with this.

Y'see, this colleague of mine is from Penang, and when he went to his wife's hometown in Tawau and he told them where he was from, they replied "Oh... jadi kau orang KL lah ni?"

Hehehe....

Excuse me, are you from Indonesia?

I met up with two Sabahan friends of mine just now. One of them has been working here in KL for quite a bit while the other was in town for a few weeks for this course he was taking.

We spoke a mixture of Bahasa Malaysia and English throughout our conversation and our BM "accent" seems to have caught the attention of the waiter, who appeared to be an ethnic Malay (actually it doesn't matter what race they are, they always mistake our accents as long as they're not born in Sabah).

Anyway, just as we asked for the bill, our curious waiter tried to be smart and asked my visiting friend: "excuse me sir, where are you from ya? Are you from Indonesia?"

I corrected him immediately and said "That's a Sabahan accent."

Sure, I probably sounded defensive but then, I'm not about to let him get away with that. It's like mistaking Spanish for Italian, or something to that effect.

The point is, peninsular Malaysians tend to be unable to tell the difference between a Sabahan accent and an Indonesian accent. (Heck I think they make fun of Sarawakian accents too but then, this blog is about Sabahans so no hard feelings ya my good neighbours).

I remember when I first got here to the peninsula, there was this kid who also remarked that Sabahans speak like Indonesians.

And just the other day, a colleague of mine seemed rather surprised that I was from Sabah and even had the cheek to ask me why I don't speak like other Sabahans.

I don't know whether that was an insult or a compliment but excuse me, do we sound funny now?

Granted, it could be our geographical proximity with Indonesia and the Philippines that influenced the way we talk but no sireee, we do NOT sound Indonesian or Filipino for that.

We sound Sabahan. Full stop.

Now that just reminded me of another one of my colleague who seemed stunned when I started speaking Bahasa Malaysia over the phone, Sabah accent and all.

She thought it was a foreign language.

Sigh...

Episode One

Welcome to a spot "a little to the east."

Your first question would probably be "a little to the east of WHERE?"

That answer is simple, at least to this writer it is.

A little to the east of where he is currently based;

A place where he was born, where he grew up and where he spent most of his life.

A little place where, he has learned, those who from places "further west" tend to stereotype (a lot of times negatively) because of either a lack of understanding or just sheer ignorance.

A little place called home.

A place called North Borneo by some, but officially, this place is called Sabah, the Land Below The Wind.

Welcome to a corner of cyberspace dedicated to simply explaining what Sabah and its people (the Sabahans) are all about, correcting the misconceptions, and simply dispelling all the negative perceptions that a lot of non-Sabahans tend to have about this "foreign land" thanks to a few ignorant and irresponsible fools who simply can't help but mess things up for the rest of us.

Let's hope this Sabahan can shed some light into the mysteries surrounding his land and its people, along with some help from fellow Sabahans out there of course.