Voters in Sabah and 'Project IC'

Sabah has always been what Barisan Nasional calls, a BN ‘fixed deposit’. But of late, incidents such as the Sulu incursion in Lahad Datu and ‘Project IC’ have rattled its normally stable environment.  We headed to Semporna to find out more about what matters to people the most when casting their votes in the upcoming general elections.

For 29-year-old Mohd K, it doesn’t’ matter if he has a MyKad or not. He tells us he will vote in the upcoming Malaysian polls.

Picking up from our confused reaction, he explained, “But I don’t go now. I just sign up and then send (the papers) to the office, in May.”

But, we asked him again, you don’t have a blue MyKad, how can you vote? “That’s right, maybe I cannot say too much.”  Mohd K smiled.

We asked again: ‘Will someone take you to the polling station in Semporna?” Yes, was his response.  That marked the end of our recorded interview with him as he left us and declined to explain more about his opportunity to vote in the elections.

Earlier, we met with a part-time resort worker on Mataking Island - the closest island to the southern part of the Philippines - to find out how people living and working in Sabah were feeling about the upcoming polls and how they were coping post-Sulu incursion. We also wanted to find out if there was any truth to the ‘Project IC’ allegations. We wondered if foreigners living in Sabah were given an easy treatment when applying for a MyKad.

Mohd was born in Kalapuan Island, where his Filipino parents live.  He has no formal identification papers and technically, would hold a red identification card if he did apply for one from the Malaysian authorities.  His parents arrived from Zamboanga in southern Philippines and are just some of thousands that cross the shores to Sabah to improve their quality of life.



He didn’t seem too wary of us when we approached him, happily talking about his life in Malaysia, and how his wife is a teacher in Kota Marudu. The father of one even told us about his plans to have a bigger family.

But when we turned on the digital recorder and questioned him specifically about his identification documents and his participation in the general elections, his responses became shorter.

His boss, M Damsing offered a different take on the MyKad issue.  While admitting he does not have any Malaysian-issued identification documents, he explained that his Filipino parents have had communication problems with some people from the Bajau community who wanted to “issue them an IC”, so that became an obstacle for him to be able to get proper documentation.  Damsing, like Mohd was born in Malaysia, after their families left Zamboanga for a better life in Sabah.   Former fishmonger Daming and Mohd are just among the many Malaysian-born Filipinos working and living on the surrounding islands of Semporna.  Technically, Daming and Mohd are stateless and had requested for us to not feature their full names.

The MyKad issue has been a thorny one ever since allegations surfaced involving foreigners, mostly from the neighbouring islands of the Philippines, being given MyKads without having to put in formal applications.  Critics claimed that the project was initiated to alter the demographic patterns of Sabah, to favour the ruling coalition in their bid to stay in power. An inquiry was organised to gather evidence about the issue and is postponed due to the May polls.  This initiative, dubbed the Project IC is the very issue that angers most Sabahans.

This opinion is that of Patrick L, a tour operator who expressed his views about how most Sabahans ?hate’ the current government.

“People who came in (to Sabah) yesterday, the next day they get an IC.  But, for a local Dusun guy who fathered a boy, it took him 15 years to get an IC (for his son)”. 

But, why only get angry now?  “We have voiced it out before, but no one was listening.”

Patrick feels strongly that there would be a good chance that the government would change, particularly in Sabah.

“Mostly on the West Coast, it’s not (controlled by) BN anymore, it’s only here, Semporna and Sandakan, because life here is very impoverished. BN gives you one water tank, and then you are supposed to ?undi’ them. But they (voters) don’t think further,” was his version of the political situation in urban and rural areas of Sabah.

The timing of the Lahad Datu incident also angered Sabahans.

“Why did this thing happen recently, why not five to 10 years ago, why is it close to the GE. 
“We were in good terms with our neighbours before, it doesn’t take the militants to wake up one morning and say, hey let’s attack Sabah one morning.  This takes planning, someone from here and someone form our neighbouring country,” Patrick claimed.

Patrick clarified that Sabahans were puzzled about the incursion.  “We don’t actually hate the people who are those militants. They are human beings. They come here to look for money, they are impoverished and we give them jobs. And in return, they live peacefully with us.  But something triggered this, and we still don’t know what.” 

However, locals in Semporna like Jamilah Abdul Hasan want BN to keep running Sabah’s state government and they do not want any major changes.

“Look at the development here under the BN government.  I don’t want to change, I want Datuk Shafie (Apdal), the current MP to stay,” was this 25 -year-old executive’s plea.

She felt that under the BN government, the military and police force handled the Lahad Datu crisis well, and there were no problems in Semporna. “It was safe and we were going to work like normal.”

“Maybe it was just a rumour. That was her response when we asked about whether the shooting incident in Semporna’s Kampung Simunul had sparked unrest and fear among people living in Semporna.  The incident was thought to have been linked to the invasion at Lahad Datu.

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