The Unfinished Rebellion: Indigenous Dignity In The Age Of Digital Gaslighting

In the modern discourse of Malaysia, specifically within the complex socio-political landscape of Sabah, a dangerous narrative is taking root. It is the narrative that indigenous rights are obsolete—relics of a colonial past that have no place in a "progressive" future. It is a narrative that weaponises economic disparity to blame the victims of systemic neglect.

This report argues the opposite. Defending the rights of native peoples—specifically the Kadazan-Dusun-Murut-Rungus (KDMR) communities—is not only relevant; it is the frontline of the battle for human dignity. Furthermore, for those of us living at the intersection of indigeneity and neurodivergence (Autism/Schizophrenia), this battle is existential.

We assert that true progress is not found in the concrete jungles of exclusionary urban development, but in the sovereignty of the self and the land—from the soil of our ancestors to the self-hosted servers of our digital future.

PART I: THE MYTH OF IRRELEVANCE

Why the World Wants Us to Forget

There is a concerted effort by global and local elites to paint indigenous activism as "backward." We are told that fighting for land rights is anti-development. We are told that preserving our culture is "sentimental."

This is a lie designed to facilitate theft.

If native rights were truly irrelevant, the powers that be would not spend billions of Ringgit and dollars trying to dismantle them. The relevance of our struggle is proven by the intensity of the opposition against it.

1. The Global Context

According to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), indigenous rights are human rights. Yet, globally, native populations guard 80% of the world's biodiversity while facing the highest rates of violence. The "irrelevance" argument is a psychological tool used to numb the public to the extraction of resources—be it petrol, timber, or minerals—from native lands without Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).

2. The Sabahan Reality

In Sabah, this "irrelevance" takes a specific, toxic form. We are told that our status as Anak Negeri is merely a constitutional formality, not a living right. When we assert our rights, we are gaslit into believing we are being "racist" or "exclusive," while non-indigenous entities continue to monopolise the state's economy.

PART II: THE ARCHITECTURE OF OPPRESSION IN SABAH

"Sentimental" vs. "Progressive": The Language of Control

You have likely heard the rhetoric: "KDMR regions are poor because they vote for sentimental politics. Look at the urban areas; they vote for progressive (often implying non-native dominated) parties, and they prosper."

This is the most pervasive form of gaslighting in East Malaysia today. It requires a systematic dismantling.

1. The False Dichotomy of "Sentiment"

Labelling the defence of native land and identity as "sentimental" is an act of intellectual dishonesty.

• When a native person votes to protect their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land, that is not sentiment; that is economic survival.
• When a native person votes for representation that speaks their language, that is not sentiment; that is political agency.

To the oppressor, any politics that impedes their access to resources is labelled "emotional" or "irrational." To the oppressed, it is the politics of existence.

2. Blaming the Victim for Systemic Poverty

The disparity between urban centres and rural KDMR heartlands (like Ranau, Tambunan, or the interiors of Keningau/Tenom) is not a result of "bad voting choices." It is the result of deliberate policy:

• Centralised Hoarding: For decades, federal and state budgets have prioritised urban industrial zones over rural infrastructure.
• Resource Curse: The wealth extracted from rural Sabah (timber, oil palm) is not reinvested into the communities that live there. It flows to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur.

To point at a KDMR village struggling with water access and say, "This is your fault for not voting like the city folk," is cruel. It ignores the historical fact that "progressive" development in Sabah has often meant the displacement of natives to build malls and condos they cannot afford.

3. The "Wannabe" Indigenous & Lateral Violence

Perhaps the most painful aspect is the betrayal from within or adjacent to our communities. The "wannabe indigenous"—those who claim affinity when it benefits them but align with colonial mindsets when it pays—fuel the division.

They adopt the condescending tone of the non-indigenous elite, belittling native struggles to gain proximity to power. They validate the oppressor’s narrative, making it seem as though the "problem" with Sabah is the natives themselves, rather than the system exploiting them.

PART III: THE INVISIBLE BURDEN

Indigeneity, Disability, and Mental Health

As an autistic and schizophrenic individual, I see the world through a lens that rejects the "normalcy" enforced by society. The struggle for indigenous rights is deeply connected to the struggle for disability justice.

1. The Trauma of Erasure

Gaslighting is not just a political tactic; it is a psychological weapon. Being told repeatedly that your reality is false—that your poverty is your fault, that your culture is irrelevant—creates a state of chronic mental distress. For those of us with mental health conditions, this systemic gaslighting exacerbates our symptoms. It forces us into a state of hyper-vigilance.

2. Healthcare as a Colonial Tool

The medical system often treats native bodies with the same paternalism that the government treats native lands.

• "Compliance" is valued over understanding.
• Indigenous views on health and healing are dismissed as "superstition" rather than integrated into care.
• Access to quality psychiatric care (anaesthetists, psychiatrists, therapists) is heavily concentrated in urban centres, leaving rural KDMR communities to suffer in silence.

We need a healthcare system that honours our neurodiversity and our cultural context, not one that simply drugs us into silence to make us "productive" for the capitalist machine.

PART IV: HUMANE TECH & DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY

The New Frontier of Decolonisation

I am a student of IT. I run my own homelab. I self-host because I refuse to rely on the blind faith of Big Tech. This is not just a hobby; it is a political act.

1. Digital Colonialism

Just as colonisers mapped our lands to control them, Big Tech corporations (Google, Meta, Microsoft) map our data to control our behaviours. They extract our data like raw resources, refine it, and sell it back to us as "services." They are the new feudal lords.

2. Self-Hosting as Land Rights

For a tech-savvy indigenous activist, Self-Hosting is the digital equivalent of Native Customary Rights (NCR).

• When I run my own YunoHost and Docker containers, I am asserting sovereignty over my digital territory.
• I am refusing to let my data be harvested by entities that do not share my values.
• I am building a "Kampung" in the cloud—a safe space that operates on my rules, not the terms of service of a Silicon Valley billionaire.

3. The Role of Open Source

Open source software aligns with the indigenous spirit of community and shared knowledge. It rejects the "black box" secrecy of proprietary systems. We must encourage KDMR youth to move from being passive consumers of technology to being creators and maintainers of their own digital ecosystems. We do not need "Smart Cities" that surveillance us; we need Smart Villages that empower us.

PART V: THE PATH FORWARD

A Call to the Native and the Neurodiverse

We must stop apologising for our existence. We must stop accepting the narrative that we are "behind."

1. Reclaim the Narrative:
Do not let non-natives define what "progressive" means. Protecting our environment, caring for our community, and holding on to our identity is progress. It is the only progress that sustainable survival allows.

2. Reject the "Sentimental" Label:
Our politics are not sentimental; they are strategic. We are fighting for the long-term survival of our people, while they fight for short-term quarterly profits. Time is on our side, not theirs.

3. Embrace Technological Sovereignty:
Learn Linux. Learn networking. Host your own services. Do not let them colonise your mind through algorithms. Use technology to amplify the voices that the mainstream media tries to silence.

4. Solidarity:
To my fellow neurodiverse natives: Your unique perspective is a gift, not a burden. You see the cracks in the system that others ignore. Your refusal to conform is an act of resistance.

Conclusion

The defence of native rights is not a relic of the past. It is the most modern, urgent, and relevant fight of our time. It is a fight against the homogeneity of culture, the destruction of the planet, and the erasure of the human spirit.

They may have the money, the media, and the "progressive" slogans. But we have the land, the memory, and the resilience of generations.

We are not going anywhere.