Sabah began counting its years of independence from British colonial rule 42 years ago, with no misgivings among most residents about joining Malaysia - if they still feel that way, it is because they see no viable alternative.

There is a nagging feeling among Sabahans that they are not quite deemed an equal partner by their signatories to the Malaysia Agreement, as promised.

According to well-known Kadazan social activist Patrick Sindu, this just about sums up the feelings of most in the east Malaysian state of 3.2 million people, a third of whom are illegal immigrants.

"True and patriotic Malaysians would not want to break away. Sabahans are not anti- Malaysia, they are just victims of circumstance" he pointed out in an interview in conjunction with the anniversary of the formation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.

This was when the Federation of Malaya, Singapore (which left two years later), Sarawak and Sabah combined to become the new Federation of Malaysia.

Sabahans like Sindu, a Christian, now openly say that federal authorities may be to blame if more begin to feel that Malaysia is nothing more than a neo-colonialist product, based on the way Sabah is being treated.

He said the very least the federal government could do is set the historical record right on the date that Malaysia came into being, and to celebrate National/Malaysia Day Sept 16 instead of Aug 31 - the date when Peninsular Malaya's independence from the British.

Former Sabah Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan, now one of the three deputy chief ministers, and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Bernard Dompok were quoted recently as saying that many people are also unhappy with the lack of attention to the significance of Sept 16 as de facto Malaysia Day.

Sabah's concerns

Sindu, who is president of the Consumers Association of Sabah and Labuan, not only champions the rights of consumers but is also active in defending the rights of the downtrodden and the neglected, especially in rural areas.

He is outspoken on issues that affect rights of natives like the Kadazans, Muruts, Rundayu, Rungu and Sungai, especially in relation to their customary rights to land. He is a rapporteur for the Geneva-based Human Rights Watch (Asia Pacific region) and a supreme council member of the Kadazan Cultural Association.

When kampong land is taken without proper consultation or compensation, in order to serve the land development agenda of federal agencies, it creates a lot of uneasiness and concern among locals, he said.

Sabahans are especially concerned that the state is seeing few benefits from the development of such resources as oil and gas.

'Why should we receive only five percent share of the royalty? People are talking about poor infrastructure, electricity, water supply and the economy, and they want to know where the revenue from income tax and road tax is going," he said.

A recent newspaper report revealed that a child in Ranau had to walk four hours to get to school, while a teacher in Nebawan walked 200 miles to collect his salary and to buy essential goods.

"This is still happening almost five decades after independence," noted Sindhu.

Fearing for future

Another major grievance is that, ever since Umno entered the picture in Sabah politics, locals have not had a real say in most major policy matters.

There is concern, too, that religion is being used to subtly drive a wedge between the local people of different faiths, who had been living peacefully long before Malaysia came into being, Sindhu said.

When they see state rights being whittled away, when the force of federal politics takes a firm grip on all aspects of local life and when the spectre of racial polarisation and religious intolerance arises, then "they become frightened for the future".

"There is a silent fear of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and people are beginning to ask whether this is the Malaysia that they had been promised," he said, referring to the national security law that allows for detention without trial.

"The federal government has to do more in order to help rid Sabahans of their (ambivalent) feelings in relation to what they think of Malaysia 42 years after independence."

Proton pricing

Importer and exporter K S Pua's view is that Sabahans would feel they share the benefits of being part of Malaysia if the national car Proton is sold at the same price as in Peninsular Malaysia.

"Surely since the east Malaysian market takes up only 10 percent of the national cars, the freight cost in shipping from Port Klang to ports in Sarawak and Sabah can be absorbed so that prices can be standardised irrespective of regions," he said.

"Why do Sarawakians and Sabahans have to pay more for the national car when the manufacturer can always 'average' the cost?"
A lawyer who asked not to be identified said the federal government should ensure that its departments and agencies provide as many jobs as possible for locals.

"As it is, we hear that personnel from the very top down to the lowest rank, like office boys and drivers, are from Peninsular Malaysia. Does this mean there are no locals capable of even becoming office boys and drivers?"

What hurts the most is the loss of Labuan island, which then Chief Minister Harris Salleh gave to the federal government and is now a federal territory.

Those like Sindu now want a referendum held to decide whether or not Labuan should revert to the state - but this remains one for the wish list, as the federal government is unlikely to give up a location on which it has spent billions to improve infrastructure.

TONY THIEN is malaysiakini's Sarawak-based stringer.