46 Years On - Was Quitting Malaysia A Mistake?

[cleareyes]

Sabah and Sarawak are doing very well in terms of tourism and trade. They are still part of Malaysia, although there are laws in Kuala Lumpur that protect the interests of the Sarawakians and Sabahans. People from Peninsular Malaya cannot simply enter into these states as and when they like. There is a law and requirement to do so.
46 years have gone past.. Have we been left lagging behind? Would'nt it be better if politicians at that time were not selfish but had thought about our future generations survival and made a right decision. Prior to independence, goods from Malaysia were moved to the world through Singapore. Is that the case today. We are competing head on in every aspect. Will Jurong Industrial Estate survive the challenge from Iskandar Project.
In my opinion, being part of Malaysia as an autonomous region, we would have benefitted much more. Our goods could have been manufactured in Malaysia. We could have focussed on R&D.
I am a proud Singaporean but sometimes my mind wanders aimlessly and those good ol days come flashing back when lorries laden with timber (logs), bales of rubber, baskets of fruits, fishes and other produce from Malaya made its way to Singapore along Bukit Timah Road. Please don't take me as anti-Singapore for I love this land on which I grew and lumbered.

After reading ur postings and the reply from others, i want to ask you this:

Have you ever set foot in malaysia? or are you saying all these based on stats or pictures??

 

[freedalas]

Malaysia is better off after booting out LKY & SGP.

SGP is worse when LKY got the whole red dot to fuck around with, and without UMNO to counter balance that Moronic Bastard.

As I said earlier, we may dislike some PAP policies over the past decade or so, and its' true some of their policies had led to suffering of one kind or another. But looking at the overall situation since independence, I just cannot accept that we would be better off remaining in Malaysia. Anyone who can say that obviously doesn't know the kind of politics being played in Malaysia and the racial discriminatory practices. Just ask those Malaysians who became S'porean citizens, they will able to tell you just how bad it is over there. Oppose the PAP for all you want, but to say that we are worse off than if we are still in Malaysia is simply nuts!!!

 

[The_Hypocrite]

I believe that quitting Malaysia is better for Singapore. Look at how Sabah and Sarawak was treated? Their resources got taken by the Federal Government and used for other states. My friends told me that if there were not part of Malaysia, the resources will be theirs for their own development. This article is noting but BS and crap..cant believe anyone in his or her right mind would write such trash.

 

[adven7]

They are in deep debt, their reserve are draining out. Hopefully, the EPF will be there when the older ones retired.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/25/business/9765246&sec=business

 

[Windsor]

Sabah and Sarawak are doing very well in terms of tourism and trade. They are still part of Malaysia, although there are laws in Kuala Lumpur that protect the interests of the Sarawakians and Sabahans. People from Peninsular Malaya cannot simply enter into these states as and when they like. There is a law and requirement to do so.

You appear to live in a different world than all the rest of us. Your statements are absolute rubbish and you have to come to this thread to argue your case. Your reputation is at stake here. I hope you are not afraid to stand by what you claimed Sarawak and Sabah to be. I have been to both States and I can tell you they are like Singapore 40 years ago. The Malaysian government and the cronies they put there as leaders are robbing those States blind.

 

[groober2011]

After reading ur postings and the reply from others, i want to ask you this:

Have you ever set foot in malaysia? or are you saying all these based on stats or pictures??

Obvious the TS has no idea of the current events happening in Sabah and Sarawak. How else would he make such a thread with no inkling that there are efforts being made now to break away from Malaysia?

There is a swelling movement in the Borneo states that is asking for more independence and questioning Putrajaya's intentions.

The wind of change is sweeping throughout Sabah and Sarawak. After nearly 50 years there is a movement that is calling for total national unity in the Borneo states. The United Borneo Front (UBF), an ad hoc NGO led by Jeffrey Kitingan, a former PKR vice- president, is awakening the people to the plight of Sabah and Sarawak’s association with the Peninsula.
The UBF has been holding meetings all over the two states and droves of people turn up to hear the arguments of its leader.
UBF’s rally cry is “Unity is Duty” and the Sabahans who are taken in by this are the children and grandchildren who voted for Malaysia in 1963.
They are now beginning to realise rather belatedly, by all accounts, that their fathers and grandfathers made a ”terrible mistake” in opting for Malaysia, a term first used by French navigator Jules Dumont d’Urville in 1826 for Malaya.

It’s an open secret that a third of those in Sabah who favoured Malaysia in 1963 were Muslims under the leadership of the United Sabah National Organisation (Usno), led by the charismatic Suluk chieftain Datu Mustapha Datu Harun.
It is widely believed that Mustapha, a Year One school dropout, hailed originally from the Philippines.
Local Muslims are Bajau, Suluk, Dusun (Orang Sungei, Bisaya, and Ranau), Irranun, Cocos-Keeling, Bugis, Indian sub-continentals and others.
Another third, the United Nations then determined, were mostly local Chinese against any idea of Malaysia. This third included an equal number of people who wanted a period of independence before re-visiting the idea of Malaysia.
A further third, mostly non-Muslim natives, wanted more and better particulars on Malaysia, and more safeguards for Sabah and Sarawak, especially the native communities, before deciding on Malaysia.
There are no prizes for guessing why local Muslims in Sabah have now come around to the idea, often expressed hitherto only by their non-Muslim brethren, that the state needs to return to the independent status it attained on Aug 31,1963 before Malaysia intervened two weeks later on Sept 16, 1963.

Divide-and-rule policy
The signature theme in the state anthem “Sabah Tanah Airku” (Sabah My Homeland), they recall wistfully, is “Sabah Negeri Merdeka” (Sabah an Independent Nation).
In 1963, the local Muslims had high hopes that they would be a favoured community under the anticipated benign leadership of the ruling Malay elite in Kuala Lumpur. Many were even willing to accept the lowly status of being proxies for Kuala Lumpur, stooges and even traitors in return for a life of material comforts.
They reckoned the wrong as evident from the ousting of Mustapha as chief minister in 1976, the entry of the Peninsular Malaysia-based Umno in 1991 and the deregistration of Usno in 1994.
They swallowed hook, line and sinker, Kuala Lumpur’s neo-colonialist divide-and-rule policies in Sabah and Sarawak and became its first victims.
There are also other developments which have since fed into the growing local Muslim sense of alienation as they continue to wither under Putrajaya’s policy of internal colonisation.
The net result is that rebels within the community are being criminalised by the powers-that-be, demonised, dehumanised, neutralised, isolated, marginalised and being virtually eliminated and/or exterminated from the political arena.
A case in point is the struggle of Usno diehards to re-register their old party.
Having been thwarted once too many times on registration by the Registrar of Societies (ROS), ex-Usno members have now set up the ad hoc Kelab Usno under Datu Badaruddin Datu Mustapha, the son of the party’s founder. It’s the Kelab Usno members who ensure that local Muslims turn up in droves at UBF gatherings.
One sore point among local Muslims is the growing influx of illegal immigrants of their faith who secure Malaysian personal documents via the backdoor from Putrajaya, become instant natives, get on the electoral rolls and snap up the opportunities which would have otherwise gone to them.
This has included seats in the State Legislative Assembly and Parliament.

Tainted electoral rolls
The crux of the Muslim problem in Sabah with the electoral rolls is the 12 tiny state seats and five tiny parliamentary seats created since 1994, mostly in the East Coast, on the basis of illegal immigrants on the electoral rolls.
Meanwhile, the number of local Muslim state seats remains at 20 as before 1994. The number of local Muslim parliamentary seats remains at eight, the same figure as before 1994.
Local Muslims find that the illegal immigrants have become the electoral fixed deposit of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), especially since the political tsunami of 2008, and at their expense.
Hence, their apparent growing desire to make common cause with other Sabahans – Dusuns (including Kadazans or urban Dusuns and Muruts), Chinese and others – who are spread over 28 state seats and 12 parliamentary seats.
The common cause strategy calls for total local rejection of Peninsular Malaysia-based political parties which are operating in Sabah in defiance of the political autonomy promised by the 1963 Malaysia Agreement.
The agreement, along with the Sabah 20 Points, governs the terms and conditions under which the state and Sarawak (18 Points) agreed to get together with Singapore, Malaya and Brunei to form the Federation of Malaysia. Brunei stayed out at the 11th hour and Singapore left, two years later, in 1965.
Local Muslims have plenty of other issues to complain about.
For starters, next to the issue of illegal immigrants, there’s growing frustration over the huge revenues being taken out of the state by Putrajaya.
Last year alone the figure was RM17 billion from oil wells in the inner waters, and RM18 billion in other revenues. These figures are from the state and federal governments.
No one knows how much revenue the federal government derives from the gas wells in the inner and outer waters and the oil wells in the outer waters where most of the wells are located. All Petronas figures are deemed to be “state secrets”.
Sabah gets a measly five percent royalty for production from the inner waters only.
In return for the revenue derived from Sabah, for the current 10th Five-Year Malaysia (2011-2015) Plan, Sabah and Sarawak equally share a measly RM9 billion allocation from the federal government while Peninsular Malaysia gets RM100 billion.
For the previous Malaysia Plan, in the wake of the 2008 political tsunami, Sabah alone got an allocation of RM17 billion out of the total allocation of RM200 billion.

The king-makers
In Sabah, the push has come to shove, and it’s anybody guess how the forthcoming 13th general election will pan out.
The late coming on board of local Muslims is being cited as a key factor in the local opposition not getting its hopes up too high for change and reform.
No matter what happens at next general election, the reading for the 14th general election is that Peninsular Malaysia-based political parties will be totally rejected in Sabah.
This is expected to further facilitate the emergence of Sabah, along with Sarawak, as king-makers in Putrajaya, steering an even course as a third force between Barisan Nasional and the Peninsular Malaysia-based opposition alliance.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/21/sabahans-‘cry-freedom’-after-nearly-half-century/

 

[The_Hypocrite]

Thanks Bro for putting up the article and putting the TS down. Writing such rubbish about being better to be part of Malaysia..its just misleading everyone..thanks for clearing the air and putting things straight.

 

[groober2011]

Thanks Bro for putting up the article and putting the TS down. Writing such rubbish about being better to be part of Malaysia..its just misleading everyone..thanks for clearing the air and putting things straight.

My pleasure bro. We need to do some research before making threads that presents a false picture.

 

[Doubblur]

Not a mistake. We cannot become part of a Muslim country. The mistake was merger. Lucky Tunku kindhearted let us go.

 

[Kohliantye]

My dear friends;
My question was, "46 years On - Was Quitting Malaysia A Mistake?"
It was a feeling deep within me to learn as to whether majority of us are better off today then 46 years ago. That was the real reason why I started that thread.
I have since felt much better in coming to know how better off we are here then those oppressed people on the other side.
The way many forummers reacted to my thread is indeed very educational and clearly shows their attachement to Singapore.
It is good to know that many of us love our independent nation.
I am an "Anak Singapura".
I am "Made in Singapore".
I am an "original" here and not some FT.
I was already in my teens when we were kicked out of Malaysia and I had seen how the Polis Di-Raja Malaysia treated Chinese and Indians (who were found outside their kampong homes during curfew hours) here in 1964 at the height of the Kg Soopoo Riots.
I am a proud Singaporean.
I do not have any ulterior motive for starting the thread.
My main purpose was to solicit your honest response.
In future, I will never again start such threads.
This is my assurance to my dear fellow forummers.
My dearest and esteemed forummers, "Please forgive me".

 

[jw5]

In future, I will never again start such threads.
This is my assurance to my dear fellow forummers.
My dearest and esteemed forummers, "Please forgive me".

Bro, no need to be so serious lah.

 

[Windsor]

My dearest and esteemed forummers, "Please forgive me".

Bro, no need to be so serious lah.

Bro...don't take it too hard. Your post was very misleading and of course among Singaporeans it is hard to swallow what you mentioned i.e. that we are lagging behind and Sarawak and Sabah is doing better than Singapore and blah, blah. All that does not make any sense if you read your post.

Like bro jw5 said, let your hair down and have fun here, and do not be so serious. Internet can be srs bsns but that applies only to those who think it is so.

 

[Doubblur]

I've lived through that colony-merger-independence era. Let me tell you as eyewitness. There was no way merger could succeed. LKY wanted PM title and the Malaysian army out of Singapore. Singapore to be continued to be defended by British until he could form a Singapore army.

Then merge what? Most Singaporeans object to merger too. The referendum was a scam. All three options on the ballot paper must agree to merger, no option to disagree. It's just how much rights to keep for Singapore. Of course most Singaporeans voted keep as much rights as possible.

 

[zeddy]

It is good to know that many of us love our independent nation.
I am an "Anak Singapura".
I am "Made in Singapore".
I am an "original" here and not some FT.

I am a proud Singaporean.

In future, I will never again start such threads.
This is my assurance to my dear fellow forummers.
My dearest and esteemed forummers, "Please forgive me".

Take it easy Bro.. All of us are proud Sporeans.. All of us are Sons of Spore.. We are not FTs.. We are made in Spore but sadly we are treated like 2nd class citizens in our own country by the Bastard PAP.. Glad that old timers like you are willing to share your stories during the early period of our Independence from Malaysia..Hope to hear more from you.. Cheers..

 

[red amoeba]

actually i believe, he genuinely thought he could, through merger with Malaya --> Malaysia to one day, rule Malaysia.

on the hindsight, we would not have gone independent in 1965 without merging first with Malaysia, UK probably won't allow. Perhaps LKY wanted to use merger as a bridge to independence...

He wanted Malaysia (which include Sinkieland) to be run in his manner / way...the PAP offshoot in Malaya was gaining support of the Chinese and this is making Malays rulers very uncomfortable.

 

[The_Hypocrite]

actually i believe, he genuinely thought he could, through merger with Malaya --> Malaysia to one day, rule Malaysia.

on the hindsight, we would not have gone independent in 1965 without merging first with Malaysia, UK probably won't allow. Perhaps LKY wanted to use merger as a bridge to independence...

He wanted Malaysia (which include Sinkieland) to be run in his manner / way...the PAP offshoot in Malaya was gaining support of the Chinese and this is making Malays rulers very uncomfortable.

Actually come to think of it, maybe Singapore would be better off under UK rule? We might have smaller flats and more expensive housing like in Hong Kong,,,but wait,,,we do have smaller flats and more expensive housing now dont we? And all thanks to the PAP

Should we start a thread on 'Would Singapore be better off under British Rule'? The comparison would be Hong Kong...

 

[The_Hypocrite]

Think Nothing of it since u apologised, I have read many good articles and comments on this forum + bad ones too from Clinton666. Other Forumers might flame me, but i hope the 'good' postings come in for all to share and expend our knowledge and not rubbish that some would see as Gospel truth. That is why I dont like trash threads..

 

[sense]

No mistake to dump Malaysia.

 

[Conqueror]

Our Forefathers Were All FTs !

You must understand that you cannot live or stay in a corporate building that was supposed to be a workplace. Singapore was that workplace from India, China, Malaysia, etc. Our forefathers wanted to go back to China but commies hijacked it, so they were all became some form of refugees. Singapore and Malaysia had many such FTs which were not Bumiputra (son of the soil). So, the Sultan of Johor lost a jewel on his crown to Lee 'dynasty'.

How can we complain too much but to thank them for giving us a place to rest ? Or we would have all become minority in many different places.

害人之心不可有，防人之心不可无。Malays are not suitable candidates to be included into the SAF.

 

[groober2011]

No mistake to dump Malaysia.

Nevertheless, the consensus among most of us here, is that we are much better off than Malaysia, particularly Sabah and Sarawak. Below is another written comment about the our differences and how far we are ahead.

‘What happened to Malaysia?’
November 25, 2011

How is it that the cost of so many basic food items and day to day consumable items end up being so much more expensive in Malaysia compared to Singapore?

By Mimi Chih

How does one measure the success of a country? To the people, it is reflected in their overall standard of living.

Not every country is lucky enough to have a team of intelligent people whose passionate objectives drive them to make their country a better place to live – for everyone.

Singapore is one such country. Today this island republic has one of the highest standard of living in Southeast Asia.

When Tunku Abdul Rahman decided to expel Singapore from the Federation of Malaya leading to its independence on Aug 9, 1965, the world did not expect this tiny island republic with a population of 1.8 million then to stand tall as one of the original Four Asian Tigers, along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan 46 years later.

Which Malaysian could have imagined that some 46 years after the split, Singapore’s exchange rate to the ringgit would hit a dizzying rate of RM2.41 (as at Nov 11, 2011)?
The last time the Singapore dollar (SGD) was almost on part with the ringgit (RM) was in August 1972 when SGD 100 was equivalent to RM100.10.

For an average wage earner in Singapore, making SGD2,500 a month, going for a 10 days holiday to the US or Australia or Europe once a year is a relatively small matter.

Annoying issues

So what happened to Malaysia? In 1965 when Singapore was expelled, Malaysia had everything that the island republic glaringly lacked – ample land, a plethora of natural resources, an operating government, and 9.3 million people.

Unfortunately, in the 46 years that has come to past, Malaysia has been bogged down by a number of issues which are clearly distracting the government from doing what it is supposed to be doing.

The ruling government (Umno-Barisan Nasional) in Malaysia is debating whether education in English would be significantly beneficial to the rakyat.

The opposition PAS is vehement in wanting to forcibly implement the hudud laws and banning Elton John from performing in Malaysia because of his sexual orientation and the Obedient Wives Club’s proposition that Muslim women should be obedient and strive to approach sex with their hubbies not just on a physical level but on the higher spiritual realm.

Then there are also questions posed to DAP’s national chairman Karpal Singh by MCA’s leader Dr Chua Soi Lek.

Chua wants to know whether a non-Muslim should first convert to Islam if they wanted to be deputy prime minister should Pakatan become the ruling government.

These are just a handful of endless annoying issues which Umno has had to deal with on a daily basis.

RM pales to SGD

In 2011 Singapore’s population stands at 5.18 million (63% are Singaporean citizens while 37% are permanent residents).

Malaysia’s population as at July 2011 is 28.73 million. Without getting into advanced mathematical calculations, one would deduce that economies of scale would be more achievable in the country that has 28.73 million people versus 5.18 million.
But this is not the case.

The cost of living is relative to the ability to earn. Lets establish the value of currency in terms of the wage rate (Malaysia does not have a minimum wage rate yet).

In Singapore the average general worker such as a merchandiser in a supermarket or department store or the cashier serving you at Mc Donald’s earns SGD5.50 – 6.00 per hour.

In Malaysia similar positions start at RM4 – 6 per hour.

But take a look at how much things cost in Malaysia. A kopi si peng (iced coffee) costs between SGD0.90 to SGD1.20 in clean coffee shops or food courts in Singapore.

In Malaysia the same kopi si peng in coffee shops or food courts costs RM1.80 to RM2.00.
A Chinese roasted duck costs SGD18-25 each . In Malaysia, at the market rate of RM48 per bird, eating roasted duck is a luxury.

Better consumer value in Singapore

As my niece, who graduated with an accounting degree and ACCA cert from Sunway College two years ago, is fond of saying: “A person earning peanuts (SGD peanuts, OK) in Singapore can still afford to buy Peter Pan Honey Roasted Peanut Butter imported from the US. “A Malaysian earning peanuts in Malaysia can’t even afford to smell any peanut butter…SGD10 in Singapore goes a lot further than RM10 in Malaysia!” says my niece.
Needless to say, Malaysia has already lost her to Singapore – talk about brain drain. More than 13 young accounting graduates from her circle of friends have eagerly taken the same path.

How is it that the cost of so many basic foods and day to day consumable items end up being so much more expensive in Malaysia?

Malaysian politicians need to start talking in a meaningful language to the people.
For a start, they can talk in terms of bringing down the cost of foods and consumables in Malaysia while striving for a decent standard.

The rakyat will surely want to listen to the party that can talk sense about making their RM10 go further than at its current limpy and lethargic rate.

It would be nice for average income earning Malaysians to be able to afford US made Peter Pan Honey Roasted Peanut Butter.

Don’t fret over issue

Forget the hudud laws for now. Being obedient wives is interesting…. but it’s not an urgent matter. Lets not fret on this issue.

And why must a capable non-Muslim candidate convert to Muslim to be the Deputy Prime Minister (of Malaysia)?

Also would converting to Muslim make the candidate a better Deputy Prime Minister?

Finally, do let Elton John dazzle the Malaysians for just one nite; he is not a terrorist. He is truly an accomplished, world class musician and entertainer.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/25/what-happened-to-malaysia/