Tag: Culture

Society

Sabah’s sea gypsies’ unending citizenship woes

Sabah Insights

Stateless Bajaus Laut remain discriminated as the Borneo state celebrates their culture

Joniston Bangkuai

It is ironic that the culture of a small group of stateless people has become an integral part of Sabah’s heritage and is celebrated with much pageantry every year. The annual Regatta Lepa, a colourful boat race, of the Bajau Laut or sea gypsies will be staged for two days from November 23 for the 29th time in  the southeastern idyllic resort town of Semporna. Yet these nomads, about a few thousands of them, are discriminated and denied Malaysian citizenship. And it begs the question why they remain stateless while their culture has become Malaysian.

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Environment

An eyesore that is a pot of gold

Sabah Insights

Poor Sembulan Tengah villagers stand to be millionaires overnight

Dilapidated wooden stilt houses at Sembulan Tengah water village.

To say that Sembulan Tengah is an eyesore is an understatement. The 42-acre (17-hectare) water village whose history dates back to the early 20th century with the setting up of an ethnic Chinese fishing settlement has become not just an obnoxious rubbish dump but a shelter for illegal immigrants and criminals. Yet about 3,000 of the villagers, who are mostly locals, are defying eviction. Their 200 wooden stilt houses surrounded by high-rise buildings which include luxurious hotels, shopping malls, shops and offices, are standing on a pot of gold in the heart of Kota Kinabalu. Land here fetches a premium. And the villagers are looking forward anxiously to another meeting with the Kota Kinabalu mayor on October 8 to resolve the problem. The first one ended without a definitive solution on September 21 but with City Hall and the Lands and Surveys Department saying that the villagers would not be evicted for now.

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Society

A merrier month of December

Sabah Insights

Sabah cultural extravaganza stresses that Malaysia is a secular nation

The Bajau Suluk culture will be on display at the Dec Cover Sabah extravaganza.

The merry month of December is getting merrier. And the calendar looks crowded towards the end of the year. Adding to the Christmas spirit and ushering in the new year are cultural events lined up for the inaugural cultural and touristic extravaganza called Dec-Cover Sabah 2023. It showcases the state’s cultural diversity and drives home the point that Malaysia is a secular country.

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Culture

A regatta overshadows the unending plight of Sabah’s boat people

Sabah Insights

Idyllic Semporna cashes in on the culture of stateless sea gypsies

A Bajau Laut beauty at the Regatta Lepa

For 28 years Sabah has held the annual Regatta Lepa, a culturally colourful boat race of the Bajau Laut, the sea gypsies or nomads. They hailed from the Southern Philippines but have made the waters off the idyllic resort town of Semporna their home. Next month the regatta will be held from 17 to 19. And as Sabah cashes in on their culture, the Bajau Laut are resigned to their plight of a stateless people. Meanwhile local authorities are tasked to clean up the town, ensure that there’s enough water supply, no power cuts and enough rooms for about 50,000 visitors.

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