Holding out for a hero

He’s got to be strong – to fight for Sabah’s rights – and he’s got to be fast – to deliver on election promises.

“WERE you at the Anwar event in Donggongon?” a Sabah politician asked me while we were having lunch at one of the best Chinese restaurants in Kota Kinabalu on Friday.

The veteran politician was referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Thursday visit to the Hawkers and Traders carnival in Buhavan Square Donggongon, Penampang, near Kota Kinabalu.

“No,” I said, explaining that I was back home in Sabah from Kuala Lumpur for work and play, not to cover the Prime Minister.

“I thought I saw you in the crowd on the front page picture of [a local newspaper]. That person looked like you,” he said.

The politician showed me the picture and I was shocked – the man in the crowd looked just like me. He was undeniably “hensem” (handsome, ahem) but he definitely was not me. I later found out that the man was my friend, who is slimmer, taller, younger and more hensem than me.

Anyway, PMX (as the 10th Prime Minister is called) was in my hometown last week.

On Thursday, Anwar launched the Hawkers and Small Traders Carnival 2023 that was organised by Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick, the MP of Penampang, where Donggongon is located.

The event allowed small traders and entrepreneurs to sell their products and the public to buy daily necessities at lower prices at the Madani Cooperative Sales and the Fama (Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority) and Rahmah Sales.

However, I noticed something about the Prime Minister’s visit.

“From the chatter in my WhatsApp groups, Sabahans are no longer in awe of a Prime Minister’s visit,” I told the politician with whom I was having lunch the day after Anwar’s visit to Tenom and Penampang.

“It is not like the good old days when there was excitement in the air when a prime minister was visiting your backyard.”

From the comments made online, Sabahans are no longer in awe of a VVIP visit. For them, it is all about what the Prime Minister can do that will improve their lives.

In his speech at the Dong-gongon event, the Prime Minister said Sabahans should be thankful for what the Federal Government is doing for them instead of complaining. Anwar said over this one year, the Federal Government had allocated over RM16bil in development funds for the state, a higher amount than in previous years. “So be a bit more thankful. Don’t just marah-marah [get angry],” he said.

The Prime Minister also told the crowd that they should not listen to politicians claiming that the allocations given to Sabah were so little that even a small island like Penang got more.

“Don’t listen to such factless talk, they follow their own sentiments and sometimes twist their words for their own gains,” he said.

Judging by my WhatsApp groups and face-to-face chats, however, on the ground, Sabahans are unhappy.

“Don’t compare us with Penang. That is like apples and oranges. The development wheels are turning in Malaya. Only a small wheel is turning in Sabah,” former Petagas assemblyman Datuk James Ligunjang told me over a keratang (grouper) breakfast near Donggongon yesterday.

We also discussed Sabah MPs who have openly expressed their unhappiness with a government gazette regarding the RM300mil interim special grant payment that was placed on their table during Parliament’s sitting on Nov 29.

Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Madius Tangau of Upko said that when a paper is placed on the table in the Dewan Rakyat, it means that the matter has been tabled. Madius’ stand is supported by Kudat MP Datuk Verdon Bahanda and Tenom MP Riduan Rubin (both are independent), Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis of Warisan, Sipitang MP Datuk Matbali Musah and Ranau MP Datuk Jonathan Yassin, both from GRS.

“We are actually shocked by this gazette or document. During the tabling of the financial Bill, I asked the Finance Ministry about its stand with regards to Article 112D [a 40% revenue-sharing formula] of the federal Constitution, and the deputy minister said a written reply would be given,” he said.

The MPs share the unhappiness of most Sabahans over the 40% sharing formula the state should get. In fact, people in the state see these MPs as heroes bravely fighting for Sabah’s rights.

During our breakfast chat, Ligunjang, a Sabah rights activist, repeated what he said in a statement issued to the media earlier that week.

“The Federal Government must not cast any further doubt on the unwavering determination of Sabahans to obtain their rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“It is vital that Putrajaya honours its commitments, including the 40% net revenue entitlement, to uplift the state from underdevelopment,” he said.

The former Petagas assemblyman explained that over the last 60 years, Sabah has suffered from a severe lack of progress and development, while Peninsular Malaysia has experienced significant economic growth.

“This stark imbalance has had detrimental effects on the people of Sabah, leaving them marginalised and deprived of even basic necessities,” he said.

Ligunjang did not have to tell me about marginalisation and deprivation in Sabah. I’ve visited eight of the 10 poorest districts in Malaysia, and all eight are all in Sabah (the other two are in Lojing, Kelantan, and Puma, Sarawak). Even urban areas struggle with getting basic necessities.

On the day of Anwar’s visit to Sabah, there was no electricity in the morning and then at night in Luyang, a suburb not of a remote township but the state capital, Kota Kinabalu.

Interruptions in the water and electricity supply is a way of life in Sabah, whether in urban or rural areas. It is worse in some rural and remote areas that still rely on water from the rain or river and light from candles or lanterns.

On Friday, I had tea with a government politician, and he was complaining about how inadequate the water supply was in his area.

“I thought you were happy as you have water tanks?” I said.

“You only have limited water for essential things. The people are angry with the Federal Government,” he said.

We discussed how life can be stressful if you are an MP in Sabah. The election promises you made – generally along the lines of, if elected, you’ll fix the water and road problems – will come back to pressure you when you can’t deliver on them within one year of becoming an elected representative.

In most of my chats with politicians in Kota Kinabalu, I asked them who could be an effective Sabah Chief Minister. They told me that the state needs a leader who fights for the interests of Sabahans and not those of Putrajaya.

The question is: Who could that be?