Over the last three years Sabah, a state of over 3.5million, has undergone a transformation, with positive growth rates, floods of new investment from China and South Korea keep coming in. Hajiji’s strong personal commitment to the developmental wellbeing of his state during his tenure the last three years as chief minister deserves much of the credit for this striking turnaround. No stranger to Sabah’s intricate native race-based political equations, Hajiji Noor nevertheless persevered with politically popular initiatives designed not for his personal aggrandizement like so many of his predecessors, but for the state’s benefit as a whole.
Hajiji’s electoral victory in 2020 over Shafie Apdal, was attributed by many observers as much to the efficiency of the Election Commission in ensuring a free and fair election, as to voter disenchantment with Shafie and his Warisan for dissolving the Sabah State Assembly when there was already an upwards trend of COVID-19 infections and was spreading like wild fire all over Sabah.
Hajiji took up Covid-19 containment and relief measures even before he assumed office. Soon after being sworn in chief minister, Hajiji was down with Covid-19 and he was in a critical stage 4 and was admitted to the hospital for weeks and later under house quarantine for months. In spite of all that his government and the Ministry of Health worked 24X7 to ensure people’s welfare. They set up a war room. They worked on a war- footing to tackle the oxygen shortage and tide over the crisis. They ensured there was no shortage of oxygen beds. They made the vaccination a mass movement. They significantly brought down Covid-19 mortality. Even amidst lockdown, they ensured people’s livelihood was not greatly affected. The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government handled the pandemic very well.
Hajiji’s focus has undeniably been on developing his state.
Upon taking office in 2020, Hajiji moved to address the state’s infrastructure problems “on a war footing”, massively investing in new roads and cutting the travel time between population centres substantially. Hajiji has coupled these concrete developmental programmes with meaningful political reforms.
While many argue that Hajiji thus far has addressed only the proverbial low hanging fruits, tackling the dysfunctional nature of the state’s governance was the logical first step in turning the state around.
While most short analyses of Sabah celebrate its spectacular growth rate over the last three years, few note the pitifully small base the state is building from. Sabah would have to grow at a rate of 10.5 percent for the next 15 years in order to match Selangor’s current per capita income. Even the total hardcore poor KIRs Sabah as of March was 13,172, down from 22,510 three years ago, dropped by 42%. This is an achievement.
This eye-catching performance has largely been driven by public, not private spending.
Still for Sabah to continue growing as it has, Hajiji must now tackle much more difficult structural and institutional problems.
Sabahans themselves, however, strongly approve of Hajiji’s performance. His government enjoyed an astounding 88 percent approval rating in 2022 and his party won 6 parliamentary seats in the November 2022 Parliament election.
Sabahans understand what Hajiji has done for their state and the developmental path he has chalked out and followed.
Hajiji’s personal commitment to developmental progress, transparency and good government stands in stark contrast to both his fellow politicians, both in Sabah. One asked for the finance minister post and wanted to be the head of every major government agency. When he didn’t get the position he wanted, he ganged up last year with Shafie to bring down the GRS government, but the coup failed.
Hajiji Noor has managed to govern his state not just in the interests of his electoral coalition, but in the larger interests of the citizenry as a whole, no mean feat in a Sabah known for the utter venality of its politicians.
Selvarajasomiah's Weblog 
Joe, I think PMX is taking notice of the points raised here.
Read this Joe, https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/04/1040416/pm-sabah-hardcore-poor-households-reduced-11000-year
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Sabah needs Federal government help for moving out PTI (pendatang tanpa izin or illegal immigrants) from the electoral rolls. This can be done by linking the electoral rolls with the JPN data bank.
The PTI in the electoral rolls, which means loss of sovereignty for Sabahan, would be automatically purged.
The PTI in the electoral rolls hold blue MyKad (citizen) based on fraudulent SD (statutory declaration) for fraudulent late registration birth cert.
The 2013 Sabah RCI (Royal Commission of Inquiry) on Illegal Immigrants, initiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, explored the Projek IC Mahathir illegalities. Sabah MIC Chief Peer Mohd, board member of state GLC Sawit Kinabalu, holds bogus MyKad based on his own words during the RCI hearing. This may be the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Those holding fraudulent Malaysian personal documents belabour in the delusion — probably driven by demon i.e. signs of forms of mental illness and/or signs of forms of insanity — that once given, government can’t take back fraudulent documents.
Insanity isn’t medical term, but legal. The court of law can institutionalise for life the insane, based on subject matter expert opinion, and thereby help keep the public from harm. The court can refer the insane for evaluation at the nearest medical centre.
In law, fraudulent documents do not exist, and if they exist, they cease existence, as if they never existed.
The National Registration Act 1959/1963 refers.
The onus remains on fraudulent document holders, whether MyKad or other documents including fraudulent SD and fraudulent late registration birth certs. These documents should be destroyed by the holders, surrendered at the nearest JPN office or the nearest police station.
If the fraudulent document holders turn up in court, after the long arm of the law catches up with the fugitives, they risk the consequences i.e. fine, jail, further jail in default on the fine, further detention under indefinite remand and/or deportation.
During the snap Sabah election on Sat 26 Sept 2020 and GE15 in Nov 2022, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin — now opposition parliamentary leader — publicly swore that no PTI would vote as long as he was Home Minister.
Hamzah placed JPN officers at polling stations in 2020 and 2022. The PTI on the electoral rolls could not vote.
The PTI-friendly Warisan government fell on Sat 26 Sept 2020.
Therein the matter lies.
There’s no amount of propaganda which can whitewash the PTI friendly and PTI lovers. Those in cahoots with the PTI will be held accountable, fined, jailed, and jailed further in default. The keys would probably be thrown away.
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The Federal government pumped in more than RM5 billion to kick off its Madani Economy Framework to enhance the economy and improve national competitiveness. No problem for the Federal government to pump in RM 3 billion to the Sabah government to help eradicate hardcore poverty in Sabah, only 13,000 plus people.
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Sabah needs Federal gov’t help for eradication of poverty. Poverty eradication must take centrestage in the Sabah gov’t economic planning and development.
The Federal gov’t can easily help Sabah since the total population involved remains small at 3.9m by 2020 National Census figures. Half of this number, or no more than 60 per cent at the most, may be living below the poverty line.
In Malaysia, 40 per cent are living below the poverty line. Income tax was payable at RM4K household income a month. The poverty line may be hovering at RM2K a month i.e. more than the RM1, 500 pm minimum wage. The minimum wage may be revised upwards soon for RM1,800 pm.
In economics, poverty remains about the money economy.
The poor are those outside the money economy and those living below the poverty line in the money economy.
The rural subsistence economy, no matter how rich, is considered poor since it’s outside the money economy.
China expert and former Harvard University Economics Professor Dr Subramaniam Swamy, elected member of India’s Rajya Sabha upper house of Parliament, argues that poverty can be eradicated once and for all if the gov’t pumps money directly into the pockets of those living below the poverty line.
He has novel ways for finding the new money.
Dr Subramaniam, who claims that “the China story was over and cautions against India treading the same path”, argues that new money will not create new inflation.
The gov’t, he said, must manage the supply side of the economy so that annual inflation remains at the ideal 2 per cent per annum. If there’s no inflation, the economy risks slipping into deflation i.e. prices falling, GDP shrinking and bankruptcies. The economy would be destroyed.
New money, continues Dr Subramaniam in numerous YouTube video, would enlarge the consumer economy and add for GDP growth.
In Malaysia, the consumer economy makes up 65 per cent of the GDP. In the US, by comparison, it’s 75 per cent.
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