Jobless, penniless and disillusioned: Hurdles to the Sabah outstation vote
The battle lines are blurred going into the Sabah election as coalition politics is reforged and in an unpredictable contest, every vote counts - including the many Sabahans who work in West Malaysia.
For 24-year-old Yong Ming Fatt, who works as a chef in Sri Kembangan, the prospect of voting for the first time is exciting despite concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yong is committed to making the journey home where he will vote on Sept 26 in Keningau, a two-hour drive south of the state capital Kota Kinabalu.
"Of course people are talking about Covid-19 now but we need to know the rights of Sabah. We will not get what we want for Sabah if we do not vote. We should vote anyway," he told Malaysiakini in an interview.
Yong is supportive of Pakatan Harapan, which is in alliance with Warisan and Upko in Sabah, believing that they have delivered more change compared to BN's era.
However, many do not share Yong's optimism or motivation to vote. Some Sabahans are disillusioned with politics while many more find the cost to fly back from Peninsular Malaysia to be prohibitive.
Worse, some are now jobless due to the pandemic and are struggling to get by as they look for a new job in West Malaysia.
Fazilah Harun, 24, said she is reluctant to make the trip home from Penang, citing the costly flight ticket.
"If postal voting is introduced, it will be very helpful to Sabahans who reside outstation in casting their ballots," she said.
However, the Election Commission (EC) is not planning to extend postal voting to outstation voters beyond the existing groups such as military personnel, police, media personnel and EC officers who are on duty.
Apart from the cost, Fazilah said her fellow Sabahans are also not motivated to vote due to disillusionment.
"We witnessed all kinds of sweet promises offered by many candidates during the election but after the elections, they are only fighting among themselves for their own welfare," said Fazilah, who wants to see more job opportunities.
Jobless from pandemic
As the country began to ease its Covid-19 restrictions and allowed the resumption of inter-state travel, flight tickets between East and West Malaysia in July were reported to cost as high as over RM2,000.
Since then, the pricing appears to have normalised and a check for a one-way ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu can cost as low as under RM200.
However, for voters who are struggling at a time of economic uncertainty due to the pandemic, every sen counts.
For 55-year-old Ivy Lojitan, who resides in Putrajaya but has been unemployed for three months amid the economic downturn, the cost to return home is a burden.
The Penampang voter said she is fortunate that a friend and a family member have agreed to sponsor her's and her child's flight tickets back to Sabah.
However, Ivy said she is more excited at the prospect of seeing her friends and family than to cast her ballot.
Ivy said when she does vote, she hopes those elected won't betray the people's mandate by hopping parties.
The Sabah election was called after Sabah caretaker chief minister Shafie Apdal secured a dissolution of the state assembly in a bid to fend off a political coup by his predecessor Musa Aman who had secured enough defections to bring down the Warisan-led Sabah government.
Ivy said she also knows fellow Sabahans working in Peninsular Malaysia but are facing financial difficulty after being laid off due to the pandemic and they are not as fortunate to get a sponsorship.
But sponsors do not only come from friends and family and some can be politically-linked.
A Sabah voter residing in West Malaysia, who only wanted to be known as Norman, said he was sponsored by a political party to return home in the last general election.
Likewise, Norman will be sponsored to return home by an undisclosed source for the upcoming Sabah election and conceded few would be willing to make the journey home if they had to fork out the cost of a round-trip ticket to Sabah out of their own pocket.
"This platform will make it easier for us to return, so we just accept it. But this is not meant to encourage bribery. Our votes still remains a secret. It is up to us to vote for whoever we want," said the 24-year-old.
Norman expects Warisan to return to power as Shafie is a big name in Sabah politics.
Food versus politician
Another Sabah voter who only wants to be known as "Jeffrey" said there are three Sabah voters in his Port Dickson household, including his wife and sibling-in-law.
But the 35-year-old is unlikely to return to Sabah to vote as he spoke of the politicians with scorn.
"I'm not excited at all. Why should I be excited about their greed to secure out votes? I've almost lost all hope with these greedy and self-serving politicians," he said.
Jeffrey's family are voters in Kota Marudu, located in the northern region of Sabah.
Jeffrey said he wants to see the issues affecting rural areas such as roads, clean water and electricity be addressed but said these issues were highlighted in the last general election but only remained as promises.
Jeffrey, who is a victim of the pandemic and has been out of a job for four months, added that it was laughable to buy a ticket back to Sabah to vote when he is struggling to put food on the table.
Due to a lack of job opportunities and a suitable salary, many Sabahans have chosen to find work in Peninsular Malaysia. However, the pandemic has left many jobless and far from home.
In 2019, Sabah recorded a median monthly household income of RM4,235, which is the second-lowest after Kelantan.
Some areas in Sabah recorded far lower median monthly household incomes. They include Pitas (RM1,999), Tongod (RM2,197) and Kota Marudu (RM2,425).
In a parliamentary reply, the government said Sabah's gross domestic product per capita income was at RM25,832 which is 45.5 percent lower than the national average of RM46,450.
It is estimated around 25,000 Sabahans reside outside of Sabah and many are in the Klang Valley, Johor and Singapore.
A total 1.12 million out of 3.91 million Sabahans will cast their ballots on Sept 26 polls, according to the Election Commission.
The EC expects a 70 percent voter turnout rate for the Sabah polls. - Mkini
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