Against the odds: Anil credits his victory in Kunak to his long-time community work in the constituency.
KOTA KINABALU: Eyebrows were raised and eyes rolled when Datuk Seri Anil Jeet Sandhu was named the Barisan Nasional candidate for the east coast Kunak seat in last month’s state election.
These doubters wondered if Anil, who is the from the minority Indian Punjabi community here, was the right choice to regain the former Umno stronghold from Parti Warisan.
Kunak, after all, is a mainly ethnic Bajau-Suluk and Bugis majority seat.
Warisan has had an iron grip on the seat in recent years. Its influence in the area has been undisputed since Sabah Barisan fell in 2018.
But when the election results emerged on the night of Nov 29, Anil surprised not only his party cadres but also the public as he became the first minority Indian to win an elected seat in the state.
Anil, 40, won with a comfortable 2,116-vote majority to beat the heavyweights – Warisan’s Datuk Jasa Raudah and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) incumbent Datuk Norazlinah Arif in a six-cornered fight.
Norazlinah had won the seat on a Warisan ticket in 2020 but defected to GRS.
“I was always confident of winning. I know many doubted my chances in a seat that was a Warisan stronghold. Some even counted my family members to show that there are so few of us even within my own family,” he said in an interview.
Anil’s father is from Sabah’s Sipitang district. His mother, who came from Sarawak, started a Singer sewing machine shop in Kunak.
Both his Punjabi Sikh parents settled in Kunak in the 1960s.
His mother became an Umno member in 1991, a year after the party set up shop in Sabah.
According to Anil, Umno had amended its party constitution, allowing Sabah-born people to become party members.
“My mother remains a member of Umno,” he said.
He recounted that former Kunak assemblyman Datuk Nilwan Kabang had contacted his mother, asking that Anil work for him in the constituency sometime between 2008 and 2009.
Eventually, he became an Umno member in 2010.
He said that people in the constituency knew his family well, and as such, the thought of losing in the state polls did not cross his mind as he has had long links in Kunak throughout the years.
“People know my family. We are not strangers to them.
“Our party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi asked me ‘boleh menang?’ (Can you win?) I told him ‘yes’,” he said.
He said the late Sabah Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin was confident about him being a winnable candidate but had to defend the choice to put Anil’s name on the ballot paper.
“So many people were doubtful about my chances,” he said, adding that many expected Warisan to win the seat hands down.
Anil, who embraced Islam a few years ago, credited his victory to his community work in the constituency.
“It had nothing to do with race or religion. The race factor was brought up by one of my opponents but it did not affect the thinking of the voters as they knew me personally.
“They did not see me as an outsider,” said Anil, who serves as Lahad Datu Umno Youth chief.
He is also the Sabah Hockey Association president since 2019, besides holding the post of a vice-chairman of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation.
Anil, who is among six Sabah Barisan candidates to win in the state election, has been appointed state Youth, Sports and Creative Economy Assistant Minister under the GRS-led state coalition government of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said the appointment was an opportunity for him to help the development of youths through sports programmes while also pushing for the critical need for sports fields in most districts including in Kunak.
Sabah Punjabi community leader Datuk Ram Singh said that Anil had proven that community work could help someone rise above race-based politics.
“He has worked tirelessly for the people in Kunak. The people recognise the importance for service-oriented leaders,” Ram said.
Anil’s victory, he said, was an honour for Sabah’s minority Indian community.
The first Indian to sit in the Sabah assembly was nominated assemblyman Datuk Kartar Singh in the early 1960s.
