If there is one unmistakable message from last weekend’s Sabah election, it is this: we can no longer avoid talking about the possibility of “divorce” between East Malaysia and West Malaysia.
For decades, we have treated the federation like a marriage worth saving at all costs. But the results in Sabah are telling us that the “marriage” has reached a stage where counselling is no longer optional, and where the prospect that the marriage might in fact not be salvageable must be placed on the table.
Sabah Has Spoken — Loudly, and Unambiguously
From the results, the signal could not be clearer: Sabahans have categorically rejected anything that originates from Peninsular Malaysia.
The anti-Semenanjung sentiment in Sabah is now so thick that even Sabahan Chinese voters — who, for decades, were seen as natural supporters of DAP — abandoned DAP completely, wiping out all 8 seats the party previously held in the state.
That even the Sabahan Chinese disowned DAP, despite DAP being widely perceived as the vehicle for Malaysian Chinese political aspirations, is profoundly symbolic. It shows that in East Malaysia today, regional identity has become far stronger than racial identity.
And if “Sabah for Sabahans” is already this powerful, then what can we say of Sarawak — where the regional sentiment has always been stronger, more coherent, and more deeply institutionalised?
A Marriage Is Supposed to Be an Auspicious Union
A marriage begins with the belief that both partners will benefit from the union.
Before the marriage, both parties may carry flaws, shortcomings, or unresolved problems.
The purpose of the partnership is to complete one another, not to consume one another.
But if the marriage ends up causing one party to feel more suffering than fulfilment, then the marriage has failed its most sacred purpose. And when one partner repeatedly insists that they are worse off after the marriage, they are essentially saying:
“You are solving your own problems at my expense.”
It is a case of your partner claiming that they are worse of after the marriage then before the marriage, because you have used them resolve your shortcomings, flaws and problem, and in the process worsen their shortcomings, flaws and problems.
No marriage can survive under such an accusation.
Have West Malaysians Not Tried?
As West Malaysians, we have tried — or at least we believe that we have tried — to preserve the union.
We have conceded.
We have apologized.
When East Malaysian keep harping on how we have used and exploited them, we did not retaliate by bringing up similar charges against them.
We have tolerated political double standards for the sake of maintaining harmony.
We have even ignored the elephant in the room and swept the problems between us under the carpet, under the hope that if we do not manifest the problems in our relationship, the problems in our relationship will not escalate, and perhaps even disappear.
However, like it takes two to tango, to resolve a problem by not speaking about it requires the cooperation of our partner.
Healing through silence only works if both sides choose silence.
If one spouse chooses silence while the other uses every opportunity to highlight the grievances in the marriage, then silence becomes complicity, and complicity becomes guilt.
If we remain silent, then it will be equal to us admitting that we are the only one that profited through our relationship, and our profit came at the expense of our partner.
When Your Partner Keeps Signalling They Want Out
If your partner constantly shows signs of unhappiness — not once, not twice, but repeatedly, consistently, loudly — then at some point you must accept that they truly believe they have suffered more from the relationship than they have gained.
Continuing to insist that the union must persist, despite their unhappiness, does not prove your love.
It proves their accusation.
If we genuinely believe that we have treated East Malaysia fairly…
If we sincerely believe that we have not profited at their expense…
Then we should not be afraid to discuss separation.
If our desire to preserve the marriage is truly for mutual benefit, and not for unilateral profit, then we must be willing to face the possibility that ending the relationship may be what our partner wants — and what justice requires.
Sabah Has Delivered a Message the Federation Cannot Ignore
What Sabah voters have said is loud enough to pierce through decades of political avoidance:
“We do not feel this union is working for us.”
If we continue to silence this message, we are effectively admitting that Sabah and Sarawak exist in the federation only to serve our interests.
But if we take their message seriously — if we take them seriously — then the only sincere response is to at least be willing to sit down and discuss the prospect of separation.
If the marriage is truly auspicious, it will survive the conversation.
If it is not, then it deserves an honourable end rather than a slow, resentful decay.
Either way, the time for pretending is over.
TheRealNehruism (nehru.sathiamoorthy@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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