While we may beg to differ on several points and vehemently object the intention of some in Philipppines to lay claims on Sabah, we must agree that the people of the Sulu Kingdom (now part of Philippines) have some form of ancestral link/rights in Sabah.
Political boundaries drawn up by the colonialist have been causing never ending problems and conflicts not only in Sabah/Philippines. Another glaring example is the long drawn bloodshed in Southern Thailand.
The colonialist British and Spanish seem to have intentionally broken up the Muslim Kingdoms of Patani and Sulu while shrinking the Brunei Sultanate by trickery and threats.
History has lots of stories to tell but history will also judge us as we judge the colonialist who mastered the art of 'divide and rule' today.
Whether Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis belongs to Thailand or the Muslim region of Narathiwat/Patani should be part of Malaysia could be an interesting debate but would that make life better for anyone?
Similarly, would Sabah be a better place if all those who basically 'swam' across from southern Philippines islands (remember parts of Sabah was part of Sulu Sultanate) are treated with contempt and deported after more than 40 years (four decades that is) ?
Are the people from south Philippines the only immigrants in Sabah? What about the Chinese who escaped persecution in Indonesia during Konfrantasi and sought refuge in Sabah (eventually becoming citizens)?
What about the Pakistani British soldiers who sacrificed their blood and sweat and eventually settled down in Sabah about a 100 years ago?
The ongoing RCI on Immigrants in Sabah could be a vital step forward in addressing the issue of illegal immigrants but we must never allow politicians to hijack the RCI for their narrow, racists and extremists politics.
If everybody starts questioning each other on who is more 'original', we may end up being forced to give ID papers and citizenship to the Orang Utans in Sepilok and their cousins who are still roaming the rainforests'... for I'm sure they're the undisputed 'original' inhabitants of the Land Below the Wind.
Please lah, don't let the Orang Utan laugh at us!
p/s It high time the Philippines officially drops its claim on Sabah as such unsolved disputes would only create unnecessary tension in our peaceful region. TQ
Another stupid article from a Semenanjung idiot with no knowledge at all about Sabah. The ancestral link argument is so lame. Everyone on earth will have ancestral link to some foreign country. Is that reason enough to give them citizenship abroad? The point of RCI is that the government gave citizenships to these foreigners secretly. Such operation should have been done openly with the mandate of the people. If they had done this then you'll see what most Sabahans would make of this abhorrent scheme. This is what democracy and good governance mean. Otherwise the government is nothing but a rotten piece of SHIT.
ReplyDeleteBtw, the Suluks/Bajaus in Sabah have ancestral link to Philippines. Not the other way round. Stop spreading lies.