ON the 62nd anniversary of the formation of Malaysia, Sabahans should have been celebrating. Instead, they are mourning. Landslides triggered by heavy rains have once again claimed lives — mostly of the poor — in a state that has known too much tragedy.
And the question that burns is this: why does this keep happening?
Year after year, Sabah suffers from floods, landslides, and disasters that are both natural and man-made. Each time, the government pledges “never again.” Each time, it trumpets early-warning systems, evacuation drills, slope management projects. Yet when disaster struck this week, where was the alarm system? Why were families not given time to flee? Was it ever real, or just another press release dressed up as policy?
The poor always pay the price.
It is the poorest Sabahans who are forced to live on dangerous slopes and flood-prone land, because they cannot afford safer housing. Didn’t the authorities anticipate this? Didn’t anyone in power think that pushing the poor to the margins of survival was a recipe for tragedy? Or was it easier to look away until the earth buried them?
Why is Sabah still the poorest state?
But the deeper scandal is this: why is Sabah still the poorest state in Malaysia after 62 years in the federation? A state blessed with oil, gas, timber, and fertile land remains shackled in poverty.
Billions have been siphoned away in royalties and taxes, while basic infrastructure, housing, and disaster-prevention remain woefully underdeveloped.
Compare this with China which has a lower per capita income compared to Malaysia. In just a few decades, Beijing lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, declaring an end to extreme poverty in 2021.
They did it with massive, targeted investment in rural communities, housing, healthcare, and jobs. To give just one example of the methods and protocols they show concern for the poor – the condition of EVERY poor household in China is monitored by the authorities.
Has our government learned anything from this? If not, why not? Who benefits from keeping Sabah underdeveloped, and who profits from poverty?
This landslide was not an act of God. It was an act of neglect. The victims’ blood is on the hands of those who have governed Malaysia for six decades but left Sabahans to fend for themselves in unsafe homes and on unsafe land.
Sabahans Demand Justice
Where is the warning system? The government must explain why it failed and hold those responsible to account. Give Sabah its oil wealth. Federal funds must be redirected immediately to build safe housing, modern infrastructure, and effective disaster mitigation. End poverty now. A time-bound national plan, with China-scale urgency, must lift Sabahans out of deprivation within this decade. Punish negligence. Where lives have been lost through broken promises, there must be criminal accountability.
Anniversaries are meant for celebration. This one is a bitter reminder: Malaysia’s promises to Sabah in MA63 have been buried under the same mud and rubble that has crushed too many innocent lives. Until action is taken, every new landslide will not just be a natural disaster — it will be a national disgrace.
Kua Kia Soong is a former MP and director of Suaram
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