Of dead elephants, invasion and a political awakening

By Admin    Sunday December 29, 2013

Meanwhile Sabah continues to experience the perennial double -standards dished out by the federal government.

COMMENT

 

By Jason Majp

KOTA KINABALU: The bizarre February invasion of a small village in Lahad Datu by an over 200-strong body of armed militants from the Southern Philippines was the top story of 2013 in Sabah.

Their undetected entry into the state is proving to be a turning point that has forced the federal government and powers that be to reconsider the policy of looking at the state as their candy store.

The invasion raised the stakes in state-federal relations and brought a surge of traffic to online media sites which dared go where the mainstream media dared not.

The fettered coverage provided by the mainstream media also raised the profile of independent, online news sites in helping the growth of journalism in the state.

News websites reported tens of thousands of new readership “hits” and forced the mainstream local and national newspapers to step up efforts to shift to the new media and halt declining readership.

Other contenders for the main talking points of the year in Sabah were the royal commission inquiry (RCI) on the immigration quandary the state has found itself in, the 13th General Elections and the banning of the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims.

Here are the top 10 news events in order.

LAHAD DATU INVASION: Some 200 mercenaries from the Southern Philippines said to be aligned to the so-called Sulu Sultanate took over Kg Tanduo on Feb 9 that led to a three-week standoff and set off an all out military assault by Malaysian security forces to dislodge them that ended with casualties on both sides.

The invasion also sparked a bloody gunfight in Semporna near Tawau when a police unit raiding a watervillage populated mainly by immigrants was ambushed.

The cascading effects of the intrusion roiled politics and stunned the nation’s leaders who had earlier laughed off talk about a “reverse takeover” of the state.

Efforts are now being made to enhance border security stretching from the northern most regions of the state to Semporna in the east.

GE, RCI and Allah

GENERAL ELECTIONS: The state government’s stranglehold on political power was loosened in the bitterly fought election, the 13th iteration since the formation of Malaysia 50 years ago.

The opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat made major inroads into the state at both parliamentary and state level but, three defections as the year ended, whittled down their numbers in the assembly.

Still, MPs aligned to the Sabah Barisan Nasional coalition government made their mark by propping up the coalition government at federal level, which was in danger of being evicted from office after a dismal showing in the peninsula.

ROYAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY: The RCI to look into the illegal immigrant issue in Sabah was finally set up and began hearing riveting testimony from witness that included former prime minister Mahathir Mohammd and former Sabah chief ministers such as Harris Salleh, Bernard Dompok and Joseph Pairin Kitingan as well as government officers and illegal immigrants themselves.

However, the sudden death of star witness Mutalib @ Abdul Mutalib Mohd Daud, days before he was to be called to the stand robbed the inquiry of some of its sting.

The state is now awaiting the inquiry’s findings.

RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSY: Christians in the state who had been using the word “Allah” in their worship were left confused by a court ruling that declared that the word could only be used by Muslims.

Federal cabinet ministers then put out conflicting interpretations further muddling the issue by claiming the ruling was not binding on Christians in Sabah, Sarawak.

Federal authorities went on to seize hundreds of copies of a Catholic newspaper despite earlier assurances that there was no ban on the use of the word “Allah” in the East Malaysian state.

Bad press

WILDLIFE: Conservationists were stunned to learn of the death of 14 pygmy elephants found at the Rara Forest Reserve, about 139km from Tawau. They had been poisoned.

The incident made news around the world and the government’s seriousness on the issue of safeguarding Sabah’s unique flora and fauna came under further scrutiny.

Its wildlife protection and conservation credentials were left in tatters by year end when nothing came of the investigations into the killing despite claiming they had been thorough and transparent in handling the matter.

Expanding oil palm plantation remain the curse of conservation efforts with experts despairing for the future of the state’s wildlife and their habitat.

SECURITY: The murder of a Taiwanese tourist and abduction of his wife from the Pom Pom island resort on the east coast of the state by an armed group from the Southern Philippines last month reopened old wounds about the lack of security along the eastern seaboard.

The incident caused several foreign embassies to caution their countries citizens about the recurrent dangers they faced in some parts of the state.

As the year ended, security forces were forced to say they had stepped up border patrols following claims that intelligences sources had picked up chatter of criminals planning to use the festive period to launch a surprise raid.

Also thrust in the spotlight were the murky relations between the resorts and government after it surfaced that some foreigners on the islands were claiming them as private property and off limits to locals.

Sabah protests

ENVIRONMENT: Residents of several kampongs in Penampang are hunkering down to fend off a state government plan to construct a dam in the scenic valley of Kaiduan.

About 2,000 people will be affected and nine kampongs submerged if the project gets the go-ahead.

The government claims that the dam is imperative to ensure steady water supply to the west coast.

The state government also caused unease with the announcement of the development of the city’s iconic Tanjong Aru beach.

This along with other high-density development projects announced without consulting the various stakeholders and residents raised the ire of many.

The controversial projects are blamed for increasing incidence of flooding in populated areas as well as gridlock on the roads.

MALAY-NISATION: The call by Sabah Mufti Bungsu @ Aziz Jaafar to “Malaynise” the state’s indigenous community practising Islam to unite the country’s Muslims was met with outrage.

Critics said he had insulted the Kadazan community and should be dragged to the native court for saying they do not really exist.

Both the state and federal governments were forced to step in to stem the backlash when hundreds signed an online protest saying the mufti’s proposal to convert the north Borneo state’s natives into Malays was akin to stripping them of their identity.

Sabahans noted that their easy-going ways and the harmony in the state has all but disappeared.

Double standards

OIL & ECONOMICS: The puzzle over Sabah’s surrender of its oil and gas wealth for just a 5% take of the profit while development lags and services are second-rate continued to pose awkward questions for past and present politicians.

Many eagerly lapped up former chief ministers Harris Salleh and Yong Teck Lee slugging it out over who was at fault.

The cabbage policy controlling shipping is blamed for keeping prices of goods and services high and has come under sustained attack.

The question of whether Sabah has kept pace with development in the peninsula continued to torment.

As has been the case for several years now, Bingkor assemblyman Jeffrey Kitingan claimed the unofficial title of “most outspoke politician” on major issues affecting the state.

IMMIGRATION: The state government found itself in a predicament after it barred MP and popular opposition politician Nurul Huda from the peninsula from entering Sabah.

Nurul was stopped at the airport and placed on the next flight out of the city when she flew in to celebrate Kamaatan,  the Harvest Festival, with Sabahans on the invitation of Penampang MP Darell Leiking.

The executive order signed by Chief Minister Musa Aman was ripped apart as political punishment and mean-spirited given that the government has done little about the hundreds of thousands of foreigners who have entered and stayed in the state illegally and even given citizenship.

The backlash forced a state government about-turn shortly after, which caused more brickbats to be hurled at the Barisan Nasional coalition government for indecisiveness.

It was not the first time critics from the peninsula had been barred from visiting Sabah.

Earlier the same month, former deputy prime minister and now opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim,  veteran MP Lim Kit Siang and Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan received the same treatment.

As in past years, the negatives outweighed the positives but there are signs that some long-delayed services and infrastructure development are beginning to make their presence felt.

At the year’s end two major projects which have stagnated – the state’s main hospital was well as its main entry point, the Kota Kinabalu International Airport – stick out as ugly reminders that development in the Borneo state is not a priority.

Time will tell if these and other projects will have a positive impact on the lives of Sabahans.

Rising prices already threaten to hide any advantages gained.