KUDAT – Located at the northernmost tip of Sabah with lovely beaches and stunning views of the South China Sea, Kudat has, according to locals, the potential to become the next Bali.
But underdevelopment has kept its people mired in poverty, even after nearly 20 years of voting for Barisan Nasional (BN).
Kudat locals say they just want an elected representative who can help them resolve unemployment and keep young people here from leaving for better opportunities elsewhere.
The population here is mostly low-income earners working as farmers and fishermen, making Kudat one of the ten poorest districts in the country under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
“None of my nine children live here anymore,” said Rohani Ayob, 63, of Simpang Mengayau.
“It is just me and my husband now. All my children have gone to the peninsula for work and have married there.”
Rohani runs a small stall selling hats near the Tip of Borneo Monument, while her husband is a fisherman. She started it in 2019 and only managed to operate it for a few months before the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020 began.
She said she was able to open her stall with the help of Tg Kapor assemblyman Ben Chong, who is from Warisan.
To her, Kudat MP Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri is an absent representative.
Rahim has represented Kudat since 2004 under the Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN) banner.
He quit Umno in December 2018 during the mass exodus of Sabah Umno leaders led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who is now Sabah chief minister.
Rahim joined Bersatu in April 2020 after the Sheraton Move, which toppled the Pakatan Harapan government.
As an Umno candidate, Rahim has managed to retain the seat with a sizeable majority in each general election, except for the polls in May 2018 when he won with a much reduced majority of 1,359 votes over a Warisan candidate.
If Rahim defends Kudat in the 15th general election (GE15), he will face his former party Umno, as well as Warisan, making it a three-cornered fight.
Complicating this for voters here is the fact that Bersatu is in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) alliance which runs the Sabah government, and is also not on friendly terms with Umno. Yet, GRS and Umno are in the state government.
When it comes to electoral cooperation for GE15, GRS and BN show no signs of reaching any agreement, with Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin recently saying that nothing has been finalised yet.
Other Sabah party leaders are also keeping mum over any electoral pact as it is known that Umno has ceased all cooperation with Bersatu.
Warisan’s potential
Warisan, the party led by former federal minister and state chief minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, would also not make it easy for Bersatu or Umno in the Kudat seat.
In GE14, Warisan candidate Sh Azman Sh Along secured 32% of votes and gave Rahim a good run for his money with a narrow margin of over 1,000 votes.
However, it’s not clear if he will contest there again, as a Warisan source told The Vibes that other names have been floated as candidates.
Warisan president Shafie has not said or hinted anything (about the candidate for Kudat), but I am aware there are individuals who have expressed interest in contesting the seat.
“They are not confirmed yet. Most probably, the candidate will come from Pitas,” said the source, referring to one of the state constituencies within the Kudat federal seat.
The source also said that Warisan has a chance to capture Kudat, since the party won in two other state seats within the federal constituency, namely Banggi and Tg Kapor.
In GE14, Kudat had 52,251 voters with Sabah Bumiputera accounting for 73% of the votes, followed by Chinese and other races 20%, and Malay 8%.
However, these numbers will change for GE15 after taking into account the addition of 18 to 21-year-olds who will be allowed to vote for the first time following the implementation of Undi18 laws.
Lack of job opportunities to be major election issue
Rohani, meanwhile, frets daily over poor sales at her stall near the Tip of Borneo Monument, which is currently closed for renovation works.
The lack of job opportunities to earn consistent income is why all her children have left, she said.
A shop operator nearby, Alisha Murnizam, 40, said tourism is not picking up fast enough in Kudat and wants the state government to do more.
Where before this, 20 to 30 tourists buses would bring crowds of people to the monument daily, there is hardly anyone there these days.
Roby Jonathan, 41, believes unemployment will be a major issue for Kudat voters in GE15.
Very few youngsters stay to continue their parents’ jobs in agriculture and fishing. Either that, or they find jobs in Kudat town, but not all shops here are paying minimum wage.”
He said Umno might find it tough to win here after years of unfulfilled promises that have pushed Kudat into the rank of the poorest districts in the country.
Another local, who only wanted to be known as Anthony, said he is hoping the GRS government’s plans for RM2 billion silica mining operation will be realised.
“Based on news reports, there will be 2,000 job opportunities, and 80% of them will go to locals. We hope they really will hire locals.”
China-owned Kibing Solar New Materials (M) Sdn Bhd has been awarded a lease from the Sabah government to mine silica sand on a 2,200-acre plot near Kg Sikuati, Kudat. – The Vibes, September 12, 2022
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