KOTA KINABALU – The year 2022 that we left behind highlighted the formidable and often distressing situations faced by Sabahans, from rural primary school pupils travelling in risky ways to the problem of undocumented migrants, besides claims over the entire state by defunct southern Philippine royalty.
The sticky, delicate issues and the daunting process of trying to overcome them will continue to haunt Sabahans in the time to come. Here, we scan some key challenges the state will continue to face in the new year.
In January last year, the issue of a dilapidated hanging bridge over Sg Batang at Mile 10, Sandakan went viral with primary and secondary school pupils risking their lives walking on unstable wooden planks.
The case grabbed the attention of Sandakan Municipal Council and people’s representatives who had then vowed to take immediate action to build a new bridge. The construction only started in October.
The case in Sandakan was quickly followed by viral pictures of over 20 children crammed on a wooden boat without life jackets heading to school in Pitas.
A local had posted the pictures online hoping to grab the authorities’ attention in solving the problem – and it worked.
Bengkoka assemblyman Harun Durabi, who is also Sabah deputy rural minister, said he would secure funds to get bigger boats and provide life jackets to children who have to take boats to go to school.
A non-governmental organisation also donated a boat to the villagers.
Another similar case emerged the following month in February, where in Pitas, 58 pupils from five villages were forced to take a small boat to cross Sg Bengkoka in order to reach school after the hanging bridge they utilised daily was ravaged by a serious flood which hit the district in early January.
Pitas is one of the poorest districts in Sabah and in the whole of Malaysia.
Then in April, videos of pupils zip-lining across a river in a bucket in Tulid, Nabawan had gone viral.
That had been their only means of access to and from school every day since the suspension bridge connecting their village, Kg Nangkawangan, to their school at SK Nangkawangan was destroyed by a major flood on March 5.
The following day, Sabah Rural Development Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim said RM100,000 had been approved to build a new suspension bridge, and work began immediately.
Sabah Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun hit out at salaried civil servants who failed to make sure bridges were properly built and repaired across the state – which regularly put the lives of rural children and adults at risk.
He lamented that such conditions were sometimes not reported, but grabbed public attention when a video or photo was taken and shared by someone, which led to the whole government being blamed.
The invalid Sulu claim
The issue of claims on Sabah by the now-defunct Sulu sultanate descendants resurfaced after a French arbitration court in Paris, France, “instructed” the Malaysian government to pay US$14.92 billion (RM62.59 billion) to the last Sulu sultan’s descendant in March.
It has quickly turned into one of the hottest issues both in the Dewan Rakyat and the Sabah assembly.
Then federal law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar assured the people that the government would challenge any future “illegal” decision to award anything to the descendants of the now-defunct Sulu sultanate, after previously announcing that Malaysia did not recognise the claims made in Paris.
However, in July, Sabah opposition representatives blamed the federal government for not acting fast enough when two Petronas subsidiaries in Luxembourg were seized by the authorities there as part of the award obtained by the heirs of the sultanate in the French arbitration tribunal.
The companies managed Petronas’ interests in Azerbaijan and were reportedly worth US$2 billion.
Warisan lawmaker Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis had said at the time Malaysia’s sovereignty would remain under threat if Putrajaya’s unenthusiastic handling of the Sulu claim continued.
She said this after an uproar occurred in the Dewan Rakyat when the motion on the seizure of the Petronas firms was rejected by the speaker.
Sabah Speaker Datuk Kadzim Yahya also rejected a last-minute motion filed by state opposition leader Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal to debate the Sulu claim.
Shafie said that the issue was important to Sabah as it concerned the safety and security of its people, as well as the sovereignty of the country.
Identification card for foreigners
Another widely debated topic in Sabah in 2022 was the foreigner’s identification card, which started when then federal home minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin announced in February that the government was mulling issuing Foreigner Cards (Kad Warga Asing) to migrants in Sabah to allow for proper identification and documentation.
He said the proposal came from the Sabah government.
Various parties rushed to criticise the decision and questioned how it was going to be implemented – which triggered Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to urge all parties not to jump the gun before a final decision was made.
The Sabah government later formed a Special Committee on Undocumented Foreign Workers and Foreign Nationals with Deputy Chief Minister II Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan appointed as chair.
The committee was tasked to collect input from law enforcement agencies, industry players, political leaders, and community leaders on how best to deal with undocumented migrants and their dependents in Sabah.
In June, two resolutions to resolve the issue received a mandate to proceed after a town hall session saw participants vote in favour of them.
The first was to establish a database which includes the biometric profiles of all migrants, while the second was to decide whether an identification card would be issued to them.
These resolutions would then be presented to the state cabinet for deliberation before subsequently being proposed to the federal government to resolve Sabah’s migrant woes.
The first resolution was supported by 99% of 144 respondents following a three-hour deliberation during the town hall session. Some 89% of 89 respondents voted to issue cards to migrants.
In August, Jeffrey assured Sabahans that the issuance of cards to undocumented migrants in Sabah would be done by the federal government only with clearance from the Sabah government.
He stressed that the Sabah government will ensure the controversial plan will have its rightful check and balance.
Sabah’s self-determination
The Sabah government appeared to be active in claiming the state’s rights as enshrined under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the federal constitution since Warisan held power in the state in 2018, and then GRS-BN in 2020.
April saw power devolved to the Sabah Fisheries Department director to issue deep-sea permits and licences for fishing vessels in the state.
In March, then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak affairs) Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili told Parliament that the attorney-general (AG) was looking into a request for one-third Parliament representation for the Borneo states.
He said a report was handed to the AG after the matter was discussed in the Equal Status Working Committee which comes under the Special Malaysia Agreement 1963 Council.
This followed Jeffrey’s call for the Borneo states to hold at least 35% of the seats in Parliament to protect their rights and special privileges.
In July, talks about a new agreement to replace MA63 resurfaced after Barisan Nasional deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan suggested the matter.
It was quickly opposed by Sabah leaders of various parties, including Warisan’s deputy president Datuk Darell Leiking and Ongkili, who both said that it would be a distortion of the national struggle and that MA63 was sacred and irreplaceable.
However, Sabah received good news by the end of last year when on December 21, new prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the authority to supervise decisions and activities related to gas sourced from Sabah will be devolved to the state.
Anwar also revealed that within one month, or even sometime early this month, other MA63 issues will be resolved. – The Vibes, January 2, 2023
