Think Sabah, Sarawak And Peninsula As Next-door Neighbours
Saturday, 4 September 2004 (Source: Bernama)

KOTA KINABALU: Malaysians in Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula have been told not to be discouraged by the vast physical distance separating the three territories in efforts to foster greater national integration.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said that if one were to take the distance as a hindrance to integration, then it would of course become one.

"If we say the distance is too far, it will create a mental block and another hindrance for us to achieve greater integration.

"So don't look at the space or at the separation...look at Malaysians in Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula and vice-versa as just your next-door neighbours. This is the culture we want inculcated," he said at a dinner hosted by him for members of Kelab Kakitangan Bernama (KKB) here Friday night.

Members of the KKB, the Malaysian National News Agency's workers club, were in Sabah for their National Day programme.

Ongkili, who is in charge of unity and national integration, said that to make up for the space and dimension, a change in mindset was necessary.

Kota Kinabalu is separated from Putrajaya by about 1,600km while Kuching and Putrajaya are about 1,100km apart, but the people can still be brought together by making unity and integration a daily culture, he said.

"So we really want to market the concept of 'Malaysians, my next-door neighbour' to make up for the distance that separate us," he said.

Equally important was the dissemination of accurate information about the three regions because "we integrate more as we understand each other better."

"This is where the media play an important role...by having better understanding about the people in the three territories and therefore be able to write informative stories on them," he said.

Ongkili was confident that the KKB members, most of whom were first-timers to Sabah, had learned much about the state during their one-week stay and would spread that knowledge among peers and friends back home.