KUDAT – Desperate to free themselves from poverty in one of Malaysia’s poorest districts, many villagers here unwittingly fall victim to traffickers posing as recruitment agents.
Roby Jonathan, a local tourist site operator in Kg Bavang Jamal, recalled how his late uncle was lured with promises of a higher paying job and that his welfare would be taken care of if he signed up with an agent to work at a factory in the peninsula.
His uncle, who died two years ago from a stroke, ended up being locked up for a week in a house in Selangor where he was told to wait to be taken to his workplace with a handful of his fellow villagers from Kg Marabau Laut here.
“This happened in 2015. My uncle ran away from the house. The house was guarded by several men, and they were told not to go outside until their workplace matters were sorted out.
“The men also held on to his identity card. This made it difficult for him and his friends to run away for fear of being caught and taken as illegal immigrants.
“While in captivity, he sought help from people he met who eventually led him to a close relative working in Kuala Lumpur.
“He got his papers sorted and returned to Kudat a few weeks later,” he told The Vibes.
Jonathan’s cousin, a woman who only wished to be identified as Ruby, was also trafficked.
Ruby said she was offered to work at a cafe in Kuala Lumpur but was instead dragged into a discotheque and pubs to work as a “guest relations officer” entertaining guests and making sure “they drink”.
“This was not what I, and a few others signed up for. But like our uncle, we escaped and ran away,” Ruby said, who now works at a local supermarket.
Tg Kapor assemblyman Ben Chong said the migration of locals is very common and is also happening elsewhere in Sabah, mostly driven by poverty.
“No money, then they don’t want to come home. Malu (ashamed). The main problem lies in the whole system,” he said.
Chong added that if indeed the federal government had been fair to Sabah, there would be financial investments in Sabah including Kudat.
“But all the investments went to West Malaysia. So, most of the job opportunities are there. Not here, not in Kudat. People here need to go to the peninsula to look for jobs, hence human trafficking cases happen.”
Chong said not all youth here can afford to look for work elsewhere, and some have to look after their ageing parents.
He added that recruitment scams are now moving beyond the peninsula, and Sabahans are being lured to Dubai.
A local leader, who only wishes to be identified as Aliasgar, said the unemployment issue is very hard to tackle and that a major part of the problem is due to the attitude of the locals.
He added that although many of them have land, they are not keen to enter agriculture.
However, they have no problem working on farms in South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia.
As for returning Sabahans like Jonathan, who had 12 jobs over 10 years in Kota Kinabalu, said it is impossible to escape the trappings of poverty here unless one is bold enough to venture out.
At one point in his life, he lived in a squatter area, while working as a hotel cook in the state capital.
“The house had no electricity and water so we had to steal,” said the 41-year-old, who raised five children in the squatter hut.
But many locals are now looking forward to the start of the massive sand mining operations in Sikuati here.
China-based firm Kibing Solar New Materials Sdn Bhd is expected to invest around RM2 billion in Sabah to start silica manufacturing operations and some 300 Kudat locals are expected to be hired when it starts operations in June. – The Vibes, June 4, 2022
