BN bastion turned swing state?

Sulu incursion, illegal immigrant issue offer a way in for opposition

An estimated 800,000 of Sabah’s 3.3 million people are illegal immigrants, mostly from the southern Philippines, including Sulu, escaping a civil war there in the 1970s. “The illegal immigrant issue is the single most important issue for many Kadazandusuns,” said Mr Fred Marukau, a retired school headmaster in Tuarid Taud village near here. “So now we are listening more seriously to the opposition parties.”

Lester Kong, ST

FOR years, people in this Borneo state lived in relative obscurity as the peninsula cornered all the headlines.

Then came an armed Sulu incursion in late February and a tough military response that put Sabah front and centre in national politics for weeks.

Now, the same Barisan Nasional government under whose watch the events unfolded is asking for another run in office, saying Sabah’s safety is best assured by the governing coalition of Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“One vote for BN means one vote for a strong guarantee of Sabah’s sovereignty and security,” Datuk Seri Najib told hundreds of Keningau residents in the heartland of the Kadazandusun community yesterday.

And he repeated the message at each of his campaign stops in Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Penyu, and Bongawan before Keningau.

To be sure, even as BN considers Sabah a fixed deposit state, the ground may be shifting.

The Sulu incursion left two villages decimated and 10 Malaysian servicemen dead. For Sabahans, who have long complained about the influx of illegal immigrants and lax borders, it was their worst fears realised.

“The illegal immigrant issue is the single most important issue for many Kadazandusuns,” said Mr Fred Marukau, a retired school headmaster in Tuarid Taud village near here.

“So now we are listening more seriously to the opposition parties.”

In 2008, when the BN suffered unprecedented losses in Peninsula Malaysia, it won resoundingly in Sabah, sweeping all but one parliamentary and one state seat.

But with Sabah’s recent troubles, the May 5 polls may see the BN’s biggest challenge here yet. Adding to the unpredictability, there are just two straight fights this time for the state’s 25 parliamentary and 60 state seats.

With the BN and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat locked in a close fight in Peninsular Malaysia, what happens in Sabah could have a disproportionate effect on who wins Putrajaya.

“It’s up to us to be kingmakers in Sabah,” said Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who leads the independent State Reform Party.

On Feb 12, 200 Sulu gunmen landed on Sabah’s eastern shore to press ancestral claims on parts of the state. The 10-week standoff, coming after revelations that the federal government had given identity cards to illegal immigrants in return for their votes, angered many Sabahans, long worried about crowding out by immigrants.

An estimated 800,000 of Sabah’s 3.3 million people are illegal immigrants, mostly from the southern Philippines, including Sulu, escaping a civil war there in the 1970s.

Indigenous Sabahans say these illegal immigrants have taken their jobs and their land.

For many, the incursion was the last straw. Now, Sabah’s 984,034 voters are increasingly impatient.

To Sabah opposition leaders, the choice is simple: continue to allow federal parties to dictate policies for the state of three million or install a Sabah-based party in the state and control their own destinies.

The opposition’s claims have gained traction with Kadazandusuns like Mr Hilbert Manan, 38. “Cash handouts are nothing when you hear of foreigners coming here and getting the same benefits,” said the building contractor from Bulu Silou village near here.

“We have waited years for our village road to be paved at least but still the government cannot do this,” laments rubber tapper Jeffri Paulus, 35, from Senagang Lama village near here.

Locals like Mr Hilbert also still hold dear promises made at the birth of Malaysia, inscribed on the Memorial Oath Stone that stands in front of a district office here.

The covenant promises religious freedom, control over local lands, and state protection of local customs in return for loyalty to Malaysia when Sabah joined the federation in 1963.

But today, Sabah gets just 5 per cent in royalties for oil from its shores.

A recent controversy over whether Sabahans can use the word Allah in Malay-language bibles has also angered many.

Since the Sulu incursion, the federal government has set up a new security zone bordering two-thirds of Sabah’s eastern shoreline, stationing thousands more servicemen.

This week, Sabah BN unveiled a manifesto that promised to resolve the illegal immigrant problem and native land issues, improve security along Sabah’s northern and eastern coasts and reduce poverty from 8.1 per cent to 3 per cent in five years.

Analysts say the economic promises could still hold power. “In the rural areas, politics of development, of basic needs is still very relevant,” says Dr Jeniri Amir, a political analyst with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.