KOTA KINABALU: Thomas Lau Chi Keong could be the dark horse in the six-way fight for the Sandakan seat which is seen as a battle between former allies Pakatan Harapan and Parti Warisan.
At 73, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) candidate is making his electoral debut in the twilight of his political career but is seen as a seasoned administrator having spent over 30 years in the state civil service.
Other than his experience, Lau, who served as the Sandakan Municipal Council deputy president from 1999 until he retired in 2005, is also seen as a fresh face, despite his advanced years.
“He is not controversial, has no baggage and people like him because he is friendly ... there are not many negative perceptions associated with him being a new face,” said Abdul Sali, a Sandakan resident.
Lau’s personal touch seems to be working with the locals, with seafood restaurant owner Lam Yuk Fai impressed by the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) vice president during their first-time encounter.
“I have never been interested in politics until I met Lau,” Lam said after meeting Lau who held a ceramah at his restaurant on Wednesday (Nov 9).
Lam said he approached Lau on the streetlight problem in the Sim-Sim neighbourhood after his previous complaints were not entertained and was amazed with the latter’s quick response in resolving the issue.
“As voters, we should choose a candidate that listens to our grouses and take initiatives to find solutions, and I am more convinced than ever to support Lau based on his ability to resolve issues promptly for the people,” he said.
But whether Lau’s community-friendly approach will have a lasting effect on the more than 55,000 Sandakan voters will be the golden question when they cast their ballots on Nov 19.
The seat, which comprised about 45% Chinese and 35% Muslim bumiputra voters, with non-Muslim bumiputra and other ethnicities making up the rest, has been a DAP stronghold since the 2013 general election.
Datuk Stephen Wong Tien Fatt first won the seat under a DAP ticket in 2013 and retained the seat in the following general polls but passed away in March 2019.
His daughter Vivian stood as his replacement for the by-election in May 2019 which she won with a massive majority of over 11,000 votes - surpassing her late father’s majority of over 10,000 votes - at a time when Pakatan and Warisan were strong allies and part of the same government.
Political pundits said that Vivian’s landslide victory was due to Warisan’s swing of the Muslim bumiputra votes which traditionally stayed away from DAP in past elections.
Warisan has placed political novice Alex Thien as its candidate while three other independent candidates namely former Sandakan Municipal Council president Datuk Peter Hii, Syeikh Lokeman and Lita Abdullah were also contesting the seat.
Once known as the “mini Hong Kong” of Sabah during the timber boom days, Sandakan these days is however dubbed as a dying town with many businesses folding as it struggles to rebrand itself over the past decade.
The issue of reviving Sandakan to return to its vibrant glory days, where it was said that “if you throw a stone, it will hit a millionaire”, has been the hot topic of discussion among the candidates vying for the seat.
Vivian insisted that basic infrastructure of water and electricity needed to be fixed first in order to attract investors into the district.
Eventually, she said, she wanted to pull in a foreign university to open a campus in Sandakan which could then attract students from Indonesia and the Philippines.
But Thien has another plan altogether, saying efforts were needed to develop the downstream activities for the palm oil industry.
“We need to set up (something like) a Sabah palm oil board. Why? This is because we need to go through the peninsula first when opening factories here if we still rely on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board - such a policy is difficult.
“So, we want to give authority to Sabah to control its export on palm oil and also to decide on the downstream activities,” he said.
Lau agreed that Sandakan needed a high learning institution but that it must be tailored to develop local skills needed for the fisheries, agriculture and oil palm industries.
“We need young people who are smart and capable to help these industries to attract foreign investors to open up factories in Sandakan,” he said.
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