By Daniel John Jambun
President Change Advocate Movement Sabah (CAMOS)
James Ligunjang’s glowing praise of Hajiji Noor’s “remarkable achievements” reads less like independent analysis and more like a well-polished advertisement for the GRS propaganda machine.
Behind the cherry-picked numbers and self-congratulatory speeches lies a reality every Sabahan knows too well — higher cost of living, stagnant wages, worsening rural poverty, and the reckless selling of our land, forests, and minerals to cronies and outsiders.
The GRS government’s headline boasts — state reserves rising from RM3.59 billion in 2020 to RM7.5 billion in 2023, revenue hitting RM8.6 billion in 2024 and projected at RM9.5–10 billion in 2025 — are meaningless without transparency on how those figures were achieved.
- “Record Revenue” Built on Selling Sabah’s Assets, Not Building Its Future
Independent industry sources and field data suggest these numbers are not the result of genuine economic transformation, but of one-off windfalls and fire-sale deals:
Over 70,000 hectares of forest handed to private companies in just two years through opaque concessions.
Timber extraction licences covering hundred thousands of acres, granted to cronies for 30 to 100 years, locking away Sabah’s resources for generations.
Mineral rights, including coal exploration licences, granted to West Malaysian cronies linked to Putrajaya elites.
Carbon credit agreements signed without public tender or robust environmental safeguards.
Accelerated extraction of oil, gas, and timber with little reinvestment into downstream industries or local job creation.
Even worse, 288,000 acres of Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) land — land that should have been returned to the people of Sabah — is now in foreign hands due to bankruptcy. If this land had been allocated at 15 acres per household, 19,200 Sabah families could have owned farmland, built homes, and secured a decent living for life. That opportunity has been stolen from our people and handed to outsiders.
At the same time, Esteel Enterprise Sdn Bhd, a company owned by foreigners, has applied for a 55,000-hectare coal mining concession in the Sipitang Forest Reserve at Long Pasia.
Zoop Technology Sdn Bhd, also foreign-owned, has applied for a 16,000-hectare coal mining concession in the north of the Sapulut Forest Reserve, Tongod District. To date, the GRS government has failed to explain who approved such massive deals, under what terms, and and how — if at all — Sabahans will benefit.
This is like selling the family gold to pay for one fancy dinner — you can’t do it twice, and the family will be poorer forever after.
- What Is There to Be Proud Of?
GRS boasts about RM8.6 billion in reserves as if it’s an economic triumph.
Reality check: Two years ago Sarawak has RM41 billion in reserves and is projected to hit RM50 billion next year. Sarawak achieved this by reclaiming control over its oil, gas, and electricity — something GRS has failed or refused to do.
While Sarawak invests its wealth into infrastructure, industry, and people, Sabah under GRS is busy signing away land, forests, and minerals to outsiders at bargain prices.
- Rising Reserves Mean Nothing if the People Remain Poor
Sabah remains the poorest state in Malaysia. Our GDP per capita lags far behind Sarawak, poverty rates are double the national average, and many rural villages still lack clean treated water, reliable electricity and burdens with muddy road.
What good are “record reserves” if:
Teachers and students in rural schools live in dilapidated quarters and hostels?
Farmers still lack basic farm-to-market roads?
Patients must travel hours for dialysis or surgery?
A government that hoards money while neglecting essential services is not prudent — it is heartless.
- “Political Stability” Is Just Code for Surrender to Malaya — and Shielding Corruption
James celebrates “stability,” but that stability came at the expense of Sabah’s dignity and integrity. Under GRS, stability does not mean honest governance — it means protecting corrupt allies while punishing only the expendable.
In one of Sabah’s largest corruption scandals, only two individuals have been charged in court, while nine others — against whom solid evidence exists — remain untouched. This selective prosecution is not an accident; it is the direct product of a political arrangement designed to shield cronies, preserve power, and silence accountability.
GRS clings to power not through the people’s mandate, but through a backroom pact with Pakatan Harapan in 2023 — a deal that sold out Sabah’s fight for its 40% revenue entitlement under MA63 in exchange for political protection from Putrajaya.
Sarawak used its stability to strengthen autonomy and reclaim economic rights. GRS used its stability to take photo ops with Anwar Ibrahim, hand out concessions to political friends, and make sure the powerful remain above the law.
- The Real Economic Trajectory — Dependence, Not Independence
GRS’ so-called transformation rests on three fragile pillars:
Extractive industries that deplete finite resources.
Federal allocations that can be cut at any time.
Political patronage that rewards cronies over citizens.
Without a serious plan to industrialise Sabah, develop high-value sectors, and grow Sabah-owned enterprises, the state will remain trapped in dependency. Young Sabahans will continue migrating to the Peninsula for work, while outsiders profit from our land and resources.
Warisan’s Position Is Clear
Economic growth must be built on Sabah-owned industries, transparent governance, accountable, and fair resource control — not short-term cash from selling our land and minerals. Reserves should be used to invest in Sabahans, not locked away while the people suffer.
Hajiji’s so-called “economic miracle” is not a legacy of prosperity — it is a legacy of liquidation. Future generations will inherit a state stripped of its assets, still begging Putrajaya for crumbs, while GRS leaders pat themselves on the back.
Sabah deserves leaders who build, not brokers who sell.
