A wild frontier town divided
As Semporna struggles with an influx of undocumented foreigners, a filthy environment and a lack of infrastructure, it has also become a political battleground.
LAST Saturday night, I took a walk on the wild side in the heart of Semporna town on the east coast of Sabah.
Undocumented children from nearby Philippines islands were publicly sniffing a plastic bag containing a glue canister. Vendors were selling vegetables and fish on a footpath riddled with puddles and garbage.
“This is Mini Basilan,” a dive instructor told me as we walked the unlit footpath to a restaurant popular with tourists from China.
“Some of my guests refuse to take this shortcut. They are so scared that they would rather take a seven-minute detour.”
Mini Basilan reminds me of Lamitan or Isabela town in Basilan island or any other southern Philippines town such as Zamboanga City or Jolo that I’ve visited.
I posted photographs of Semporna town on Instagram and Facebook, and my Filipina friend living in Zamboanga City commented: “Jolo town is cleaner”. Ouch!
With the recent influx of tourists from China attracted by the sea, sand and snorkelling at nearby islands, Semporna town is surreal.
You’ll see hip, young Chinese tourists, Bajau and Suluk locals (and some illegal immigrants from nearby Philippines) and glue-sniffing stateless children. Nearby, there are paradise islands like Sipadan, Mabul and Pom Pom.
But Semporna town, the gateway to one of the world’s best diving destinations, is arguably the filthiest town in Malaysia. It smells of rotting garbage and urine. Who is to be blamed?
If you are from Barisan Nasional, you’ll blame Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, the Semporna MP since 1995. When he was in Umno, Shafie held important Federal ministerial portfolios such as Domestic, Trade and Consumer Affairs, and Rural and Regional Development.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said for the last 30 years, the MP (whom he did not name) – first as Deputy Minister and then Minister – had failed to bring any development to the constituency he represented. Shafie hit back.
The Parti Warisan Sabah president said it was Musa’s job as chief minister to develop Semporna.
That Saturday night, Nixon Abdul Habi, my Bajau college classmate, drove me around his hometown. He was rather embarrassed and angry about the state of Semporna.
“Semporna is blessed with beautiful islands, marine life and fertile lands, but deprived of all the benefits because of the wrong kind of leadership,” said the 48-year-old Umno politician.
“A leadership that has been using Barisan as a springboard to personal fame and fortune, but not applying the spirit of Barisan to help the people.”
“Yup, Semporna doesn’t need a YB who is more interested in his fleet of luxury cars,” I said, referring to information I had received that an assemblyman drove his Lamborghini in the dilapidated town.
Nixon, named after former US president Richard Nixon whom his dad admired, laughed. But he didn’t confirm what I had said.
“So, what would you do if you were the YB?” I asked Nixon who, when we were studying at Prime College in the 1980s, used to discuss politics with me and how we could change the lives of Sabahans for the better.
He gave me his nine-point plan. It included:
> Tackling the issues of security, squatters, PTIs (pendatang tanpa izin or illegal immigrants) seriously and holistically;
> Ensuring basic infrastructure like water, electricity, communication and ICT are in place before 2050; and
> Expanding the economy by encouraging locals to participate in tourism activities, marine aquaculture and modern agriculture activities.
Nixon is a rebel figure in Semporna Umno. Arguably, the former Semporna Umno Youth chief (2004-2008) was the only Semporna Umno leader to go against Shafie at the height of his power.
In 2013, he contested against Shafie for the Umno Semporna division chief post. It was foolhardy to go against the incumbent as Shafie was an Umno vice-president and Rural and Regional Development Minister. Unsurprisingly, he lost to Shafie.
In the same year, Nixon’s brother Dr Zamree (they both come from an influential political family in Semporna) contested as a PKR candidate against Shafie in the Semporna parliamentary seat. Unsurprisingly, Dr Zamree lost.
“My family went against Shafie because he failed to provide the right leadership, which caused the physical mess in Semporna,” Nixon said.
Nixon and his family were politically cold-storaged in Semporna for rebelling against Shafie.
However, he made a comeback to Semporna politics after Shafie quit Umno in July 2016. Datuk Seri Nasir Sakaran, who replaced Shafie as Semporna Umno head, appointed him as a committee member.
Nixon also drove me around his town to check out his party’s preparations for the Sunday visit of
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Musa to open the Semporna Quran Studies Academy and the new Semporna Umno office.
When he quit Umno, Shafie took control of the party headquarters in Semporna. Shafie also split Semporna Umno – Sulabayan assemblyman Datuk Jaujan Sambakong joined Warisan, while Senallang assemblyman Nasir and Bugaya assemblyman Datuk Ramlee Marhaban stayed loyal to Umno.
Post Shafiexit, it is an internally fractured Semporna Umno.
The banners welcoming Zahid and Musa to Semporna were the talk of the town, a Puteri Umno member told me.
“In banners sponsored by Ramlee, you can see a photograph of him with Zahid and Musa whereas in Nasir’s banners, you can see a photograph of him, Zahid, Musa and Ramlee,” she said.
If the party is not careful, the four Semporna seats in the 14th general election (GE14) might end up like Klias – the only seat Umno lost in Sabah in GE13.
To undo the mess, the Puteri Umno member said, Semporna needs a fresh face to represent it.