KUCHING: Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian is appalled at the misleading nickname for Sarawak as published in the Going Places traveller’s guide.
In a Facebook post, he said he could not be more shocked to have come across the sub-headline of an article run by the June 2023 edition of Malaysia Airlines’ magazine.
Although Dr Sim did not point out the misleading information, it was evident that he was referring to “the Land Below the Wind” which the Going Places article used to refer to as the state of Sarawak.
The Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) president uploaded an image of the article, which carries headline “Escape to Sarawak” and sub-headline “Four hotels to book on your next trip to the Land Below the Wind”.
“Was shocked as a Sarawakian when I came across this article on June 2023 MH’s Going Places. Have you found my “shock”?
“Is hard to be #SegulaiSejalai while Sarawakian expected to know West Malaysia but West Malaysian still making mistakes on Sarawak,” he said in the social media post.
One of the comments to Dr Sim’s Facebook post reads “Agree with you YB Dato Sri. This is silly mistake.”
For the record, Sarawak is nicknamed the Land of the Hornbills while the Land Below the Wind refers to the neighbouring state, Sabah.
“Segulai Sejalai” is an Iban phrase from Sarawak which means “Together in Unity”.
During the state-level Gawai dinner recently, this phrase caught Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s attention, and the Prime Minister said that he would adopt the phrase as the motto for unity for the country.
Going Places magazine is made available to passengers flying with Malaysia Airlines.
