Abandoned and decaying, MP-less Batu Sapi hopes for regeneration

SANDAKAN – Batu Sapi, the constituency made famous courtesy of a giant seashore rock resembling a cow, has been without an MP for almost six months.

Whether it be a by-election or general election, it is expected to undergo polling soon following the death of Warisan’s Datuk Liew Vui Keong in October last year.

What makes the race for the parliamentary seat interesting is that there is now strong sentiment among Bumiputera voters to cast their ballots based on the candidate, instead of the political party.

This is in light of the recent deluge of defections by elected MPs, which has cemented the concept that it’s possibly pointless to choose a lawmaker based on his or her party.

“I believe the Muslim Bumiputera voters here are split between Warisan and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, but people will be voting for the candidate,” said local Zulkamlon Pitting.

“We want candidates with whom we are familiar. He or she must be friendly, humble and, most importantly, approachable. We want to be able to approach our elected representative.

“I believe that a candidate’s party has become unimportant as anyone can jump to another party.”

The 48-year-old self-employed man also opined that the turnout of Chinese voters will be a key factor in determining the winning party as they are firm in supporting DAP, which is a component in Warisan Plus.

Lu Shim Kiat, 58, who was born and bred in Batu Sapi, agrees with Zulkamlon, stressing that he will not vote for Barisan Nasional or parties aligned with it, and instead vote for a party aligned with DAP.

“We have had enough of BN’s bribery and corrupt practices.

“It is too short of a time to judge the late Liew’s contribution to the constituency, but I believe Warisan can bring positive changes if given the chance.”

Local community activist Azlani Rayqiezan, however, said the most popular candidate will likely win the Batu Sapi seat.

He pointed to the race for the Sekong seat in Batu Sapi during the state polls last year, during which Warisan had replaced incumbent assemblyman Arifin Asgali with a fresh face, Alias Sani.

“I think Warisan would have lost Sekong to Umno if the candidate was another person,” Azlani said.

“The locals are familiar with Alias, who has been active in serving the people even before he was in politics. People like that he is approachable.”

In the Sabah election last year, Warisan won both state seats in Batu Sapi – Sekong and Karamunting – defeating Umno and MCA, respectively.

According to Election Commission (EC) records in 2018, Batu Sapi voters are divided into Muslim Bumiputera (65%), Chinese (30%), non-Muslim Bumiputera (4%) and other ethnicities (0.82%).

As of November last year, EC statistics recorded 34,235 voters in the constituency.

Previous MPs from Sabah Bersatu (2004-2018) and Warisan (2018-2020) are said to have failed in bringing what the people here want most – major improvements and employment opportunities.

Zulkamlon said: “The previous MPs use their constituency funds to fix only basic facilities, like bridges, in Batu Sapi. We want more; we want our voices to be taken to the federal government.

“We need more professional and better-paying jobs so that our younger generation does not need to move out of Batu Sapi to secure better jobs. We need more facilities, like a hospital and fire station, and we need the economy to be revived.”

Prosperous before, a ghost town now

A five-minute drive beyond Sandakan will take one to Karamunting, a state seat in Batu Sapi with 14,054 voters.

It consists of Bandar Ramai-Ramai, Bandar Nam Tung and Bandar Leila. All have blocks of shoplots, of which more than half are empty.

Karamunting community leader Datuk Chew Kok Woh said the three towns used to be booming in the 1980s.

“People started moving out of Batu Sapi in the early 90s for Mile 4 and further as there was an influx of squatter settlements here. Illegal immigrants started showing up and criminal cases increased, forcing locals to pack up.

“That explains the abandoned buildings and empty shoplots, which make up the ghost towns that we see in Batu Sapi and Sandakan today.

“The situation has sunk so much now that if you tell someone that you bought a house in Batu Sapi, they will laugh at you.”

Further down the road is Sekong, where there are factories and water villages.

In Batu Sapi, most of the Bumiputera are factory workers or fishermen, while the Chinese community do business. The constituency also includes seven islands, with about 2,000 voters, and has two district polling centres on Pulau Timbang and Pulau Shanghai.

Be a fisherman, or hunt for employment elsewhere

Due to Batu Sapi’s dwarfish development, the younger generation must venture to Kota Kinabalu or West Malaysia to seek better jobs.

Single mother Junaidah Onik, 55, said her twin sons, 22, had to move out of the constituency to fulfil their wish to study animation and computer graphics. They are now looking for employment in Kuala Lumpur.

Primary school teacher Farhan Abdullah, 43, who has been living in Batu Sapi for the past 13 years, said people on Pulau Timbang, where he teaches, have become aware of the importance of getting their children to pursue higher education. There are some 500 families living on the island.

“However, if their children are lucky, they will be able to work as civil servants in Sandakan. If not, they will have to move away to look for better opportunities.

“Those who do not further their studies will follow in their fathers’ footsteps and become fishermen.” – The Vibes, March 30, 2021