MALAYSIANS KINI In Stephen Chua’s teenage mind, Sarawak is a republic and he is the president.

Since secondary school, Chua, now a 44-year-old filmmaker, had dreamt of being ‘president’ of the state - a state he believes is a country on its own.

"I used to really think so. Now I think of making films for some time (in the peninsular) and then returning to Sarawak to become president because I think I can govern it better.

“When I was in Form Four and Form Five, I would even sketch how my clothes looked after I became president, the uniforms of my fighters - Sarawak's military and police - , the town planning and so on.”

Chua ( photo ) is one of many Sarawakians who left the state for greener pastures. Although the father of one has made a life for himself in Kuala Lumpur, home is still the Land of the Hornbills.

He describes Sarawak as a “treasure” and gripes about what he believes is poor governance and unfair allocation of resources for the state.

"I don't see the Sarawak tourism department doing well There, facilities are poor and flights are few.

“The flight (to Sarawak from the peninsular) can even be more expensive than flying to Taiwan, it seems like we are two countries (East and West Malaysia)," he said.

Scepticism over S4S

Despite his desire for more autonomy for Sarawak, Chua is not an automatic supporter of the ‘Sarawak for Sarawakians’ campaign, which is gaining attention with state polls nomination day tomorrow.

“We need to fight for this (greater autonomy) but you don't know those people behind it. Do they want to consolidate their power or are they pressing (Chief Minister) Adenan (Satem)? I don't know their game," said Chua.

This is a view echoed by other Sarawakians, who are watching the state's politics unfold from across the South China Sea.

Timothy Upai Lindris ( photo ), 26, a media executive digital publisher from Limbang, believes the movement is “selfish”.

"I only have 50 percent sympathy for this S4S. If you go to Sarawak, a lot of people will put the S4S (logo) on their car, on the shirt. Why like that?

"Now we are talking about unity right? S4S sounds very arrogant and “only for Sarawakians”... now we are 1Malaysia!" he said, echoing the slogan of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The views of Sarawakians in the peninsular matters in this election - although the national census does not record places of origin of Klang Valley residents, more than 100,000 are recorded as non-Malay bumiputera.

This group encompasses natives from Sabah, Sarawak and the Orang Asli.

The Johor government estimates about 50,000 Sarawakians - mostly Iban - in Johor alone, while Sidang Injil Borneo, the largest church group in Sarawak, has about 5,000 members in its peninsular chapter.

In Terengganu, only half a percent of locals are Christian, but churches are now offering more Bahasa Malaysia services for East Malaysian students who flock to the public varsities there.

For some who have lived outside of Sarawak for several years, the S4S movement is “extreme”.

"Do they want to go out from Malaysia? This is so extreme. Can Sarawak survive if it moves out from Malaysia?

"I know Sarawak has a lot of resources but that does not mean they can fully survive to accommodate all the people of Sarawak. I think we also need the federal government," Suryana Manterang ( photo ), a quantity surveyor, who has left Kuching in 2008, said.

‘ Adenan walks the talk’

Autonomy is a key issue in the campaign for the May 7 Sarawak election, with Chief Minister Adenan setting the agenda by pushing for higher oil royalty and more autonomy in other issues since taking over in 2014.

If before the call for autonomy could be used by groups like S4S and the opposition to rally support against BN, Adenan ( photo ) has turned the tables.

His vocal stance on the issue has endeared him to some Sarawakians, making the S4S movement somewhat off-putting.

Muhammad Hafriz Fareedy, a safety supervisor who left Bintulu in 2011, said it is not that S4S is completely unjustified. Indeed, he admits, the federal government has not been so fair to Sarawak.

"Sarawak needs more attention from the federal level. Everyone knows we have many resources but this is not distributed well. There are schools that have no walls.

"You can see although the United States is a big country, each state has consistent development and no one left behind.

"But in our country, Terengganu and even PAS-ruled Kelantan also have many oil and other resources but what has happened? If the federal government is fair certainly there would be more balanced development in Sabah and Sarawak," said Hafriz, 29.

This is why he believes Adenan’s more aggressive approach for more autonomy bodes well for Sarawak.

Suryana, on the other hand, is keen on Adenan but less so on his take on autonomy, which she believes is not a priority for Sarawak.

Looking from afar, she believed Adenan has brought about development to the state, including the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway which has been many years in the making.

"Adenan walks the talk. Compared to his predecessor he indeed brought development to Sarawak. He has especially focused on repair and building roads for inland areas. This is what we want to see - performance," said Hafriz, agreeing.

‘ My love for Sarawak is undivided’

Hafriz ( photo ) described his love to Sarawak as "undivided" ( tidak berbelah bagi ) not only because his wife is in Bintulu but also because he has a deep bond with the land.

Now living in Sunway, he still pines for his hometown and returns home twice a month.

The only thing keeping him in Kuala Lumpur is the higher salary. Poor development in Sarawak means he has to be separated from his wife for at least another five years. Not surprisingly, development will be on Hafriz’s mind when he votes on May 7.

Suryana, too, is keen to make her voice heard, despite her ambivalence about politics.

Despite registering as a voter, she is now worried to find that her name is not in the Election Commission’s database.

"I want to vote because every vote count," she said.

While Timothy will not be returning home to vote - he missed the deadline to register as a voter - he shares the desires as Suryana.

Both youths hope to return home one day, after gaining more skills in their respective fields, to contribute to the state.

Idyllic memories

Filmmaker Chua, too, wants to give back to his state - but elections are not his way, he says.

It has been 19 years since he left Sarawak, but within him is a film about the state that he is hankering to make. This film, he believes will pave the way for his homecoming.

Although Sibu-born, Chua spent his formative years in Sri Aman, where he has childhood memories bathing in the river behind his house with the natives who live in a longhouse nearby.

However his idyllic childhood memories are marred by recollections of timber trucks taking out century-old logs from the rainforest.

"I am not going to vote because I think the best way is for me to make a movie so that whole world will know the reality faced by Sarawak indigenous people.

"I think this is an international issue because the indigenous all over the world face injustice.”

But like many Sarawakians who have moved away, Chua thinks his return will only be temporary.

He intends to stay in the peninsular, where there are more opportunities in his field - or maybe even move overseas.

For now, being president of Sarawak remains as the dream of the teenager he once was.

Part 1: Language, religion, home - Sarawakians in the Klang Valley

 

 

MALAYSIANS KINI is a series on Malaysians you should know.

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