Sandakan becomes a ghost town

SANDAKAN – Even before the pandemic, Sandakan which was once called “Little Hong Kong” had become a “ghost” town, especially at night. 

A large part of the town, once home to tycoons, stands empty, with few cars parked under dim street lights, flanked by abandoned buildings.  

What happened to the once bustling town that used to be the state capital until 74 years ago?  

Sandakan was full of life during the 1970s, and the economy was good due to the timber industry. Giant timber companies were set up around Sandakan, as logs would be shipped from the Sandakan Port.  

The Sandakan district is also the third largest of Sabah’s 25 districts, and the 2015 census showed that it had a population of 396,290. 

However, rising crime rates forced residents to flee to nearby satellite towns.

A new visitor to Sandakan may mistake the satellite towns as Sandakan town, a resident told The Vibes.  

To cater for new residents in the satellite towns, banks and key service companies opened there, resulting in higher real estate prices.

Some Sandakan residents blamed the decline on undocumented migrants from nearby Philippines and Indonesia.  

The town was seen as a comfortable place for those fleeing to another country for a better life.

However, it did not sit well with the locals, who often blamed migrants for rising crime rates.

The state government and the private sector were well aware of the declining town and tried to revive it with various projects.

Ten years ago, the Harbour Mall Sandakan was set up at the town centre. It was the only mall in Sandakan, and was assumed to bring economic prosperity.

But it was not to be.

In 2015, two people were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf gunmen from a restaurant just 10 minutes away from town.

This long-drawn incident crippled the tourism industry here as well as the local economy.  

Several retail chain stores at the Harbour Mall closed less than two years after opening.

Sandakan was in the doldrums until July 2016, when the Lotus Five Star (LFS) cinema opened at the mall, making it the first modern cineplex in the district. It was launched by then chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman.  

When the late Datuk Stephen Wong Tien Fatt was Sandakan MP, under the ruling Parti Warisan Sabah in 2018, he said his first mission was to revive the economy of the town.  

His daughter Vivian Wong took his place as MP after he died in 2019. 

After Warisan lost the state polls in September, Sandakan was left in the hands of opposition leaders.  

Now, with the Covid-19 pandemic, Sandakan’s economy is again in jeopardy.

Two hotels, including the town’s biggest – Four Points by Sheraton Hotel – and oldest – Nak Hotel – had stopped operations.

As the country has yet to keep infections low, more and more businesses here are expected to shutter.

According to a source from the Sandakan Municipal Council, there has been an average of 50 cancellations of trading licences here each month since April.  

While the town longs for its former glory, it remains to be seen if Sandakan can regain its Little Hong Kong moniker. – The Vibes, December 27, 2020