WHEN I first set foot in the peninsula, particularly Johor Baru, to further my studies in the late 1990s, I realised many Malaysians did not know much about Sabah and Sarawak.
With the Internet still in its infancy then, the only reference those who had not travelled to the two states had was what they saw on television or read in history textbooks.
They had plenty of questions for me on the two states: on development, modes of communication, language, culture and way of life.
I am a Sino-Kadazan from Manggatal in Sabah, with Chinese blood from my maternal side. I have been mistaken for a Thai and Japanese while working in the national capital, probably because they could not tell if I were of Malay, Chinese or an Indian heritage.
I guess we Sino-Kadazans have this hard-to-tell look given the human tendency to categorise.
Sabah, being part of a young Malaysia, was not well-known, at least in the 1990s. Social media as we know it today was in the distant future.
There were not that many television commercials and print ads promoting the state as a tourist destination.
So, I was not that taken aback when some Indonesians, who my friend and I met, thought Sabah was part of Indonesia.
I bring this to attention as Malaysia Day will be celebrated this coming Sept 16 to gauge how far we have come as Malaysians from a personal standpoint of a Sabahan.
It is only fair that I put myself to the same assessment to test my knowledge about the rest of the country besides my hometown.
While I have covered most of the states between Perlis and Johor, there are two states I have not set foot in: Terengganu and Kelantan.
Of all the states I have visited, Melaka is most similar to my own in terms of its diverse communities.
I have been lucky that most of my experiences were positive.
A warm family at a remote Felda settlement in Kota Tinggi welcomed me and a few others into their homes when my coursemates and I were doing practical training during our university days.
My Muslim friends, too, did not make it awkward for me to have lunch during the fasting month. I still found time to join them during breaking of fast when time permitred.
I also joined the last-minute shopping spree at a bazaar in downtown Kuala Lumpur during the eve of Deepavali and attended the celebration at a temple the next day.
I have also seen changes in my university coursemates from being guarded due to their first encounter with a Sabahan to being comfortable even performing daily prayers in my presence.
And, with flying into Sabah and Sarawak made easier through frequent flights and cheaper fares over the last decade, fellow Malaysians from Peninsular Malaysia have grown to know and understand us and vice versa.
Yayasan Sabah, the state government statutory body that provides scholarships and other education facilities, has, in fact, been sending Sabah students to schools in the peninsula since the 1970s as part of the government’s integration programmes.
We have come a long way, but we still need to work at building understanding and I believe it is our duty to understand everything that makes Malaysia a great nation and not allow geography to stand in the way.
While not everyone can travel and explore all of Malaysia, we have the Internet and social media that can come in handy to gain insights into Malaysia and Malaysians.
It would also help if the current advertisements that oversimplify by depicting Malaysians in stereotype traditional clothing are replaced to reflect other forms of the nation’s diversity.
I have always been proud to tell people where I come from whenever I travel domestically or internationally.
I am from Manggatal. I am a Sabahan. I come from Borneo.
I am a Malaysian.
Kristy Inus, a staff correspondent for the NST Sabah bureau, is open to experiencing new things and adventures. She recently embraced the Muay Thai training as a lifestyle.