The Forgotten Land

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."
~ Mother Teresa 
 

Hi, my name is Fong, and I come from Malaysia. I was raised here, loved here, and taught here, that this is my country, my home, my shelter, my first love. I am a Chinese, but I am not from China. My friend, Muthu, is an Indian, but he's not from India. My another friend, Mat, is a Malay, but he's not an Orang Asli. We consist of the 3 main races, and we call ourselves Malaysians.

But what about my friend Apai? And my friend Raden? Entulu? Masahor? Gapur? Moggie?

Who are they?

Where are they from?

Have you heard of their names before?

Were they ever in your school books?

Are they foreigners?

"People will forget what you said,

people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel."

~ Maya Angelou

Lets go to Johor! We can have some Otak-otak in Muar. Oh oh!!! Mee Bandung too!!! Maybe some Nasi Briyani Gam from Batu Pahat as well.

No no! Lets go to Malacca for Sate Celup!!! Chicken rice ball is also a must eat! Maybe some ikan bakar and some Kuih Nyonya too while we are there.

I thought people normally go to Penang for food? There's Penang Char Kuey Teow, Asam Laksa, Beef Kuey Teow Soup, Lor Bak, Chee Cheong Fun, Durian and so much more. Cannot eat finish wan...

Aiyoh...Just stay in KL lah. What also got. All the Johorians, Malaccans and even Penangites come to KL to find work, can definitely find their food here.

But...

"Only the forgotten, are truly dead."

~ Tess Gerritsen, The Sinner.

What about Kompia? Sup Ponas? Tomato Kuey Tiao? Kueh Chap? Ngiu Chap? Soto? Have you seen it on your restaurant menu? Are these Johor food? Or is it Malaccan? I am sure I have never seen it in Penang before...Can I find it here in KL?

“A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things. ”
~ Herman Melville

Defend Putrajaya, "even if our bodies are crushed and our lives lost"!

 "I would endeavour to deserve my life, Sire."

~ Thomas Blood 

They have taken away our trees. Our land. Our culture. We are robbed of our own food, and clean fresh water. They dirty our rivers, for the pockets of the few. Our daughters are raped by millers and workers everyday on their way to school. Our sons are forced to work from dawn till dusk, because immigrants are cheaper and plentiful.

We have lost our natural habitat. And yet, we still uphold our principles to the highest honour. Let alone an injured animal that passes by our village, or any friend or enemy for that matter we will treat him like he is our brother.

We are a proud race. Our ancestors were here long before the Whites set foot to this land. This is our land. Yet, we have not demand for your absence. We are peace loving people. Do not force us anymore.

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed."

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Hey, have you heard of the Port Klang Free Zone? I heard it was a massive RM12.5billion scandal! The culprits have yet to be caught unfortunately. What is going on with the cops these days?

That's nothing. Heard of the Scorpene deal? I heard that our Prime Minister is linked to this case when he was still the Defence Minister. There is no substantial evidence to prove this yet, so I could be very wrong but then again, whats there to believe in in today's Malaysia?

“I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence.”
~ Eugene Victor Debs

 

In recent years, reports have shown that Taib Mahmud, the longest serving and current Chief Minister of Sarawak is currently one of the richest man in Asia whose fortune is estimated to be about RM4.6billion. The Bruno Manser Fund, BMF has acknowledged that this research only covers publicly available information from Malaysia's Register of Companies and other official company registers, meaning that the actual figure is most likely only a fraction of his actual wealth.

Yet, his people were never heard and are kept in poverty. The people are denied electricity while his family and politically linked partners lives lavishly. People either sacrifice their freedom or risk prosecuted, swallowing their pride, or risk seeing bloodshed.

“When someone steals another's clothes, we call them a thief.”  

~ Basil the Great

Lets not forget Sabah, Land Below the Wind. Home to Malaysia's tallest mountain known to almost any keen hikers and nature lovers around the world.

In 1970, Malaysia has a population of about 10.5 million people while Sabah has about 600,000. In just 40 years, Malaysia has increased its population by 165% to about 27million whilst Sabah increased 390% to 2.5 million.

Our government have denied this many times over, but the truth is that the local Sabahans themselves have begun to believe that it is possible for the immigrants to have already outnumber them, in their own land.

Jobs are scarce, and people are also kept hidden through poverty, so that they too can not be heard. So that they too will not be helped.

 “It is too difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living.”
~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

I wish to voice to all my fellow family, friends, neighbours, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties, to put down our selfishness for once. To put down our stubbornness in believing and throwing a false belief to our future generations to come, that Malaysia was born on the 31st of August 1957. 

Lets us all fight, and create a new chapter in history together, and tell our unborn children that Malaysia was born on the 16th of September 1963, the day when Sabah and Sarawak joined us all to form a complete Malaysia. Let us tell our brothers and sisters in Sabah and Sarawak, that we have not forgotten them, and we will celebrate our independence together.

Most importantly, let us make a stand, for the first time in the history of Malaysia, so that it can be recorded that its people celebrated its true independence on the Sunday of 16th September 2012.