Am I an ‘outsider’? Here’s what it’s like staying in Sarawak as an Indian for 18 years.

Most people have heard of stories of Sarawakians living in Semenanjung and the stereotypes they face. From being asked if they had internet on their treehouse to being teased that they travelled to school with Bujang Senang the Legendary Crocodile. Sarawakians always felt like an ‘outsider’ when they came to Semenanjung, but what about people from Semenanjung staying in Sarawak?

If you’ve been to Sarawak, you may notice that there are very few Indians – at least compared to Semenanjung. Being an Indian in Sarawak meant I was the ‘outsider’ to the Sarawakians…visually. Like you could spot me in a crowd full of people.

Hi, I’m Cass! I was born in Ipoh and raised in Miri, Sarawak since I was 3 months old. Obviously, being 3 months old, I didn’t have a choice but to follow my dad to Miri for his first job. Ever since I came to PJ for college, I’ve noticed a number of differences between Semenanjung and Sarawak…

We had to drive to Brunei every 90 days just to stay in Sarawak.

Unless you’ve already been to Sarawak, not many people know that Semenanjung people need a ‘visa’ to enter. The same applies for Malaysian (but non-Sarawakian) workers as well. Most of these ‘visa’ passes allow you to stay for a maximum of 90 days, which you have to renew by leaving and re-entering the state again. Click here if you would like to know more about this policy.

What this means is that, my family and I had to leave Sarawak every 90 days just to renew the visa or risk getting kicked out. But obviously we can’t be flying back and forth every 3 months, so since Brunei is only a 45 minute drive away, we would drive to Brunei to get our social visit renewed every 90 days. This continued for about 10 years, but we finally got a dependant pass and we didn’t have to drive down to Brunei anymore.

Although it was quite tiring to travel to Brunei every 3 months, at least we got to have good Indian food (twice the price in Malaysia) and my mom got to stock up on her spices.

Fun fact: Even many Sarawakians aren’t aware of this 😮

Chances are, you’ll be the only Indian in the class… or school

First of all, to be clear so I don’t piss anyone off, I had other Indian friends, half-blood and full-blood. However, there were very little Indians in Miri, especially in the early 2000s. Literally all the Indian families knew each other and it was a common understanding that if you see another Indian, you would nod or smile whether you knew them or not.

Up until I started primary school (2010) I used to think people were making fun of me when they called me ‘tambi geley’. I’d cry and tell my parents that kids in school were calling me names and they would just tell me to ignore it. I guess overtime, I got used to it and people in school also just stopped calling me that.

But after years of not hearing ‘tambi geley’ or ‘tambi’ I had a sudden moment of clarity thanks to an inik. 

When I visited my friend’s kampung for Gawai, I overheard an inik (grandma) asking the ‘tambi’ to eat in Iban and the ‘tambi’ she was referring to was obviously me. Since I understood what she said I just smiled at her but I was shocked as well since I haven’t heard the word in a while. I found out from her daughter that the word was just used by Sarawakians to refer to Indians.

It wasn’t anything malicious, they just didn’t know a better word. After she told me that, the dots just connected as well… why the kids in school called me that and why no one told them off… because it was just them calling me an Indian.

So, it was quite a bit of a shock to me to find that…

Racism is worse in Semenanjung compared to Sarawak. 

Yes. You read that right.

When I came to Kuala Lumpur, I went from being one of the only Indians in my friend group back in Miri to having a lot of Indian friends here in KL.

Talking to my Indian friends here, I discovered that the racism that they encountered in school was BAD. For example, getting called the word k*ling. I never knew what k*ling meant or how bad the word is til I saw a post on Instagram about how k*ling is a racial slur. I heard stories of how they were bullied in school for ‘smelling like curry and coconut oil’ that made them feel very insecure and it still left a mark on them. I was also told that no one notices them unless they excelled in school.

Comparatively, I’ve never felt excluded back in Miri. I’ve always been treated equally be it in school or outside. Tambi Geley was a word that was used out of lack of familiarity rather than being malicious.

I’m not going to lie, there were definitely a few racist remarks throughout the years but some people just weren’t brought up right. What to do.

Balik Kampung really is a luxury thing.

One common thing we share with the Sarawakians staying in Semenanjung is dealing with crazy flight ticket prices. We only ever came back to visit relatives once a year and it would be during the long school breaks in December.

My parents would book tickets at least 3 to 5 months prior so we could get cheap air fares. If an emergency occurred, only my parents would go back because a round trip would easily cost about RM 350-500 each. Coming from a big family of 7, we would rather keep the money for something else.

I might have a Semenanjung IC, but Miri will always be home

Despite the struggles and the difficulties, living in Sarawak as an ‘outsider’ is probably one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Whenever I meet up with ex-schoolmates who are also studying in Semenanjung, we would just sit and talk about how we miss home and how things here are so different.

In fact, while writing this, I was asked where I’d rather be after I finish my studies. And the answer is obvious:

Miri is home. I’ve lived the Sarawakian way, enjoying the food and celebrating all the festivals like a true Sarawakian. Although I may not have a K on my IC, my heart will always say:

“Kamek anak Sarawak.”