Nothing can be good as nothing - Agnes Newton Keith
But now i'm back on the track. I'm currently reading Agnes Newton Keith book "White Man Return" and i liked it so much! Why did i only found out about her now? After i finished this, i plan to read her 1st book called "Land Below the Wind". Yeah, i know. It's a shame the fact that i live in Borneo, specifically in Sabah, yet never once read Land Below the Wind.
One thing that strikes me when reading this book, is that, this place (Sabah) didn't changed much since 1934. I mean in terms of people attitude and their way of life. I am a Dusun, and Dusun is one of the many native tribes in Sabah. So, the way i see it, the world may be evolving, technologies advanced further, but human hardly changed.
Agnes described the aborigines of North Borneo as follow,
"At present the native of Borneo has no national concept, much less world concept, because he can't think that big; he doesn't know that he has a country because he can't see that far."
- So true! World Bank reported that Sabah is the poorest state in Malaysia. And the Government told us not to complain and should considered that we are lucky compared to China and India. And did we do anything about that? Sadly, no.
"In North Borneo there never has been and still is not a moneyed class among the natives; a man's wealth is in his personal possessions, and his dogs, pigs, buffalo, blowpipes, weapons, brass, and wives."
- Class? What class?
"The most unpopular law was one which aimed at making it compulsory for the natives to plant for enough rice to feed themselves, and to harvest and eat it, rather than drink it in the form of fermented, fiery rice wine."
- Just as you can never take away the sea from the shore, and so it is with the natives and their drinking. What is the purpose of earning, if at the end of the day you cannot drink, sing and laugh?
The way i think is a bit different than those around me. If you'd compared my lifestyle with the others, i hardly belong to the native. My brother say i'm quick to panic. I can't sit straight before i get all the job done. I always do things fast, and i expect the same from others. But my family, relatives and others around me, they do things in their own pace. They are seem not to be bothered by anything. Last time i was in Ranau, i went to this shop to buy a flip flop, i pick the thing and put it on the counter, and the cashiers just stood there chit chatting with each other. I remained calm, and hold my tongue. After a few minutes standing there feeling like an idiot, one of the cashier finally look at me and say, " You want to pay for that?" No, i just put these things on the counter so i'll have a reason to stand here and hear your chatting. I should have said that. After i went out, i exploded and poor mum had to listen to all my whining. But really, 90% of Ranau population occupied by native, and there, it seems like no one is (ever) in a hurry. I think if i stayed 1 more day in Ranau, i'm would lose my mind.
Anyway, i'm not saying that those around me are lazy. It's just maybe that they desire less things. To have live and laugh seems enough. My father used to say, "Why should i pay 150k for a car if i can get one at 10k? The purpose of a car is to get from Point A to Point B." He is one tough Dusun. Shiny things don't work on him.
As i say, as time goes by, the culture is withering, tribal dance's steps are forgotten, ancient song barely heard, traditional clothes are just costume, and yet, the attitude will never change. This is just natives being native.
