COMMENT The Sabah Chinese community face a growing reality that they are being diluted and replaced on all fronts - business, politics and community.
On the business front they are being shoved off the shelves except perhaps in the areas of commercial pig farming and death-rituals (undertakers). But these areas too are slowly being infiltrated by Indonesians and Timorese manual workers.
On the political front, many of the formerly Chinese majority seats are now mixed seats and some have been overtaken by new Malaysians with bumiputera status. State seats such as Api-Api and Luyang in the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary constituency are the very few exceptions.
As for the community, the birth rate of Chinese is among the lowest in Malaysia. This coupled with the highest emigration rate has reduced the percentage of the Chinese not only in Malaysia but also in Sabah.
History notes this trend in North Borneo as dating back to the Japanese Imperial Army, when they executed many able-bodied male and intellectual Chinese during WWII in retaliation for the uprising and support of the China's war effort.
It was a lesson to dissidents in the aftermath of the Double Tenth Rebellion in Jesselton where the Kinabalu Guerillas ‘liberated’ West Coast for a couple of days until Japanese reinforcement arrived from Kuching.
The Kinabalu Guerillas acted prematurely, before Allied troops arrived, as emotions ran high over the news that conscription of local Chinese women as comfort escorts for the Japanese military would commence then.
Loyalty, love, money
Chinese have a high regard for loyalty and consistency in purpose for the greater good in the long haul in life.
In that spirit, many Sabahan Chinese have little qualms about marrying non-Chinese spouses.
Over the years the numbers of Sino-Dusuns or Kadazans in Sabah has grown as a result of interracial or mixed marriages.
In towns like Ranau and Kuala Penyu, traditional Chinese shops are now run by descendants of mixed marriages as more Chinese children wed spouses of other races.
Education and multi-ethnic social interactions have opened up their minds and mentality to forging practical ties.
Economically speaking, a non-Chinese spouse is said to be cheaper when compared to the high expectations imposed by potential Chinese in-laws in the state.
Here in Sabah, this is perhaps the most pertinent point as more and more young Chinese resign themselves to lost opportunities due to various forms of discrimination in education and employment.
The increasingly widening socio-economic gap in the community is seeing the lesser educated working class suffering the most with limited options while the offsprings of their affluent 'other half' (i.e. political and business lords), succeed both locally and internationally.
While flashy cars, sprawling mansions and a teeming nightlife on the sideline tell of a purportedly cash-rich community, the truth is that the average Chinese parent in Sabah today is struggling with high costs of living, spiralling house prices, expensive transportation, food and education for dependents.
And all this is in addition to having to care of the health and welfare of their aging elderly.
Dropouts and dwindling opportunities
Many of the 'old and once considered rich' Chinese Sabah families have sold off their lands or mortgaged their houses to finance the tertiary education of their offsprings.
Many of these children who go abroad do not return. And those who do return are stuck in low paying jobs that don't help with the repayments of funds spent by their parents for their education.
Admist this scenario, a 'booming' community of school dropouts either from the Chinese stream or national type schools is emerging.
Schooled in only one language, which is 'opportunity and quick money', these youths are too spoilt to take up manual labour and most prefer to go into all kinds of opportunistic business including the black market from distributing contraband goods to the latest device or gadget or substance that has a demand.
Those with some skills like welders, mechanics and panel-beaters prefer to work outside Sabah in West Malaysia, Singapore or Taiwan.
Some have emigrated to as far north as Canada and south to Australia under the respective skilled migration programmes. Among them are hair stylists and beauticians.
A random survey of Sabah's once Chinese dominated provision shops, cobblers, tailors and home appliance and electronic repairs industries, found that the children of these skilled tradesmen have no interest in continuing their family business.
In which case these mostly hand-me-down skills will die a natural death much like the rattan furniture shops of yesteryears.
On the logistics front, one hardly finds Chinese taxi drivers or long haul truckers anymore.
The dwindling numbers are due to an unwritten policy that no Sabahan Chinese can buy a taxi permit from a non-Chinese holder.
A Chinese taxi driver can sell his permit to another Chinese or a bumiputera but a bumiputera taxi permit holder cannot sell his permit to a non-bumiputera.
New applicants for a taxi permit have little chance of competing agains the new Malaysians from Indonesia.
Unspoken fears
But more alarming to the concerned observers is the rising corp of Chinese youths living in escapism, indulging in the cyberworld playing games to earn a living.
Frustration, anger, brawls, money and warlords in their Facebook cyber lives are just as relevant in their daily lives out on the streets.
Some of these youths are still living off their parents and those who managed to find their way into grassroots political-work have a warped sense of reality and are disconnected with the larger picture of what is good for the country and the state.
These days most Chinese in Sabah just want to make hay while the sun shines.
From the well connected affluent individual to the daily wage earner eking out a subsistent living, every single person is waiting for the next big break such as striking the lottery, making the right bet or the newest trend which is ride the 'how to get rich fad.'
There is an unspoken fear that the community's youth is burning itself living in the NOW - with nowhere to go.
In all fairness there maybe a minority of youths that can transform the state and the country if given the opportunity to contribute and excel.
But the ongoing jostle in Sabah politics allows for little room for youthful enterprise and fresh insight.
In Sabah the political process militates against any such talents given the brawl and brawn rice bowl approach of the politico crème de la crème.
No leader
The political class has little concrete hope to offer voters except the usual recycled promises that their tax monies is being used to finance the state's 'development and growth'. Where and how this money is channelled into 'development and growth' is shrouded in secrecy.
Currently in Sabah, there is no one Chinese leader who commands the total respect of the young.
The recent Batu Sapi by-election was testimony to that.
Given Linda Tsen, a Chinese won the parliamentary seat on Barisan Nasional ticket, the truth is this once-housewife is not 'from the ground' and perceived as being among the wealthy who wallow in their comfort zones.
Tsen did not win because the Chinese voted her in, infact two-thirds of the registered Malaysian voters of Chinese descent did not come out to exercise their voting rights.
Analysts of the various political parties have differing opinions as to why this level of suffrage apathy happened and wonder if it will affect future elections.
The more optimistic among them have said that it was only a by-poll and unlikely to change the political landscape in the Sabah.
They believe the Chinese simply did not intend to waste time on a ‘trivial’ exercise such as a by-election.
David Thien is a political observer and writer based in Kota Kinabalu
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