Great Expectations by Charles Dickens must be quite fitting a play to account for the lives of the people living in the sleepy border town of Batang Ai. Many might not have really cared for the Great Expectations as the plot is not only complicated and winding but down to earth boring. Although those well articulated in the English language might be able to find the moral themes of affection, loyalty, self-improvement and ambition.
Batang Ai the modern replica of the Great Expectation? Many would say “You must be out of your mind.” But if one is to go to Batang Ai and look at the living conditions of the folks there one would really feel that the “class” differences between the people there and those living in the modern era. 90% of the people in Batang Ai do not have the basic infrastructures such as piped water, electricity, medical facilities, fire station and sewage system just to mentioned a few. They have been deprived of the developments and they have always been the forgotten ones except during this by election. But because of their simple and innocent nature, they are yet ready to fight for what are rightfully theirs.
So, what are the expectations of the people in Batang Ai? Do they have the same expectations of the people living in KL or Kuching or Penang? The answer to the questions would tell us the results of the 407 by election, no more and no less!
Many Sarawakians (not the local folks) have a lot of expectation for the Batang Ai by election. Many who met me in Sibu would ask questions such as How id Batang Ai? Are you going there? Why are you not there?
They are sending us a very clear message that they want change and they are hanging their hopes on the voters of Batang Ai. Many would regard the 407 by election as a referendum on “Change” and hoping that the Dayak community in Batang Ai would take the lead in Sarawak. They all know that if Sarawak is to change, we can not do it without the participation of the Dayak communities.
Many cynics would say “Do you really think that the rural folks are ready for change? How many voters can resist the temptation of money politics? The natives can not be trusted as they are cheaper to buy than Belacan (shrimp paste). These are insults to the natives here as they deserve better than the BN government and we are all responsible to the state of their affairs. They need our guidance and counseling as how they may empower themselves to be the agent for change and they can make a difference for themselves.
Do we all not have our great expectations? We all have our own dream, dream for better things in lives such as self improvement and ambition to achieve success, demanding good governance and justice for all. The problem is the conflict of our short term needs with our dream. Sometimes although we are know that we must do something for our future but our present circumstances demand that we have to do certain things in conflict with our long term goals. That is the problem faced by our fellow Sarawakians in Batang Ai, they have a lot of frustration and disappointment with the BN government but they simply have to accept the fact that the BN is the keeper of the resources that they are so in need that they can’t afford to offend.
On this note, I am to condemn the BN for the state of backwardness of Batang Ai as they are fully responsible as the only state government since we are part of Malaysia. They have the thick cheeks to come to Batang Ai and tell the folks that only the BN can bring development to them when the area is as developed as the undeveloped African nation.
If you ask me “Who is going to win in Batang Ai?”, then the above should give a good indication of the outcomes of the election tomorrow. Let the Batang Ai folks prove me wrong tomorrow.
In any event, the by election and the strong opposition challenge have made the poor folks in Batang Ai the real winners as the area has not seen such development candies for the past 45 years. But democracy and the dream of good governance would take the back seat if the voters are willing to trade long term prosperity with election candies. May be Charles Dickens would will able to write another great play out of the Batang Ai if he is alive today.
David Wong
6-4-2009
Batang Ai the modern replica of the Great Expectation? Many would say “You must be out of your mind.” But if one is to go to Batang Ai and look at the living conditions of the folks there one would really feel that the “class” differences between the people there and those living in the modern era. 90% of the people in Batang Ai do not have the basic infrastructures such as piped water, electricity, medical facilities, fire station and sewage system just to mentioned a few. They have been deprived of the developments and they have always been the forgotten ones except during this by election. But because of their simple and innocent nature, they are yet ready to fight for what are rightfully theirs.
So, what are the expectations of the people in Batang Ai? Do they have the same expectations of the people living in KL or Kuching or Penang? The answer to the questions would tell us the results of the 407 by election, no more and no less!
Many Sarawakians (not the local folks) have a lot of expectation for the Batang Ai by election. Many who met me in Sibu would ask questions such as How id Batang Ai? Are you going there? Why are you not there?
They are sending us a very clear message that they want change and they are hanging their hopes on the voters of Batang Ai. Many would regard the 407 by election as a referendum on “Change” and hoping that the Dayak community in Batang Ai would take the lead in Sarawak. They all know that if Sarawak is to change, we can not do it without the participation of the Dayak communities.
Many cynics would say “Do you really think that the rural folks are ready for change? How many voters can resist the temptation of money politics? The natives can not be trusted as they are cheaper to buy than Belacan (shrimp paste). These are insults to the natives here as they deserve better than the BN government and we are all responsible to the state of their affairs. They need our guidance and counseling as how they may empower themselves to be the agent for change and they can make a difference for themselves.
Do we all not have our great expectations? We all have our own dream, dream for better things in lives such as self improvement and ambition to achieve success, demanding good governance and justice for all. The problem is the conflict of our short term needs with our dream. Sometimes although we are know that we must do something for our future but our present circumstances demand that we have to do certain things in conflict with our long term goals. That is the problem faced by our fellow Sarawakians in Batang Ai, they have a lot of frustration and disappointment with the BN government but they simply have to accept the fact that the BN is the keeper of the resources that they are so in need that they can’t afford to offend.
On this note, I am to condemn the BN for the state of backwardness of Batang Ai as they are fully responsible as the only state government since we are part of Malaysia. They have the thick cheeks to come to Batang Ai and tell the folks that only the BN can bring development to them when the area is as developed as the undeveloped African nation.
If you ask me “Who is going to win in Batang Ai?”, then the above should give a good indication of the outcomes of the election tomorrow. Let the Batang Ai folks prove me wrong tomorrow.
In any event, the by election and the strong opposition challenge have made the poor folks in Batang Ai the real winners as the area has not seen such development candies for the past 45 years. But democracy and the dream of good governance would take the back seat if the voters are willing to trade long term prosperity with election candies. May be Charles Dickens would will able to write another great play out of the Batang Ai if he is alive today.
David Wong
6-4-2009
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