By Daniel John Jambun, Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
KOTA KINABALU: Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) refers to the recent report highlighting that rising costs and disruptions are pushing Sabah SMEs to the brink.
Let us be absolutely clear:
This is not a story of weak businesses.
This is a story of a broken system.
Sabah SMEs are not collapsing because they lack effort, innovation, or resilience.
They are collapsing because the economic environment they operate in is fundamentally unequal, structurally disadvantaged, and policy-neglected.
1. THIS IS NOT A MARKET FAILURE — THIS IS A POLICY FAILURE
When viable businesses begin to shut down, the problem is no longer individual.
It is systemic.
Sabah SMEs are being crushed by:
– escalating logistics costs
– fuel price pressures
– supply chain disruptions
– limited access to fast and affordable financing
These are not business mistakes.
These are policy failures.
And policy failures demand policy solutions.
2. SABAH IS PAYING THE PRICE FOR STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY
Let us confront the uncomfortable truth:
A business in Sabah does not compete on equal footing with a business in Peninsular Malaysia.
It pays more to transport goods.
It pays more for fuel.
It pays more to survive.
Yet it is expected to compete in the same national market.
This is not economic integration.
This is economic imbalance.
If Malaysia is truly a federation, then economic justice must be part of that federation.
Otherwise, Sabah will remain a market — not a partner.
3. CASH FLOW IS THE IMMEDIATE BATTLEFIELD
Many SMEs are not insolvent.
They are illiquid.
They have orders.
They have customers.
But they do not have the cash flow to survive rising costs and delayed cycles.
What is needed immediately:
– Fast-track SME financing approvals within 48 hours
– Low or zero-interest emergency micro-financing
– Temporary tax deferments and relief
– Cash flow-based lending — not collateral-based barriers
Without urgent intervention, viable businesses will die unnecessarily.
4. COST PRESSURES MUST BE DIRECTLY ADDRESSED
There is no point talking about “entrepreneurship” if the cost structure is suffocating businesses.
We call for:
– Targeted fuel subsidies for logistics-dependent SMEs
– Transport cost equalisation between Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia
– Bulk procurement platforms to reduce input costs
– Strategic investment in local supply chains
Sabah cannot continue to import inflation while exporting opportunity.
5. SABAH SMEs MUST BE GIVEN ACCESS TO MARKETS — NOT JUST SURVIVAL
A small domestic market cannot sustain long-term growth.
We must move beyond survival thinking.
We must unlock expansion:
– Structured ASEAN market access programmes
– Export readiness support (certification, logistics, branding)
– Tourism-linked SME integration
– Aggressive digitalisation and e-commerce adoption
Sabah SMEs should not be confined to a limited local economy.
They must be empowered to compete regionally.
6. THIS CRISIS DEMANDS STRUCTURAL REFORM — NOT TEMPORARY RELIEF
Let us be honest:
Short-term aid without structural reform is merely postponing failure.
What is required is a reset:
– A permanent SME crisis response framework
– Faster government payment cycles
– Simplified regulatory processes
– Stronger public-private coordination
Sabah does not need sympathy.
Sabah needs systemic correction.
7. THE BIGGER QUESTION: WHO IS THIS ECONOMY DESIGNED FOR?
If local businesses cannot survive, then we must ask:
Who is the system serving?
Because an economy that cannot sustain its own SMEs is not an economy built for its people.
It is an economy built around them — but not for them.
THIS IS A TEST OF POLITICAL WILL
Sabah SMEs are the backbone of the local economy.
If they fall, the consequences will not be limited to business owners.
It will affect:
– employment
– household income
– economic stability
– social cohesion
Let us be absolutely clear:
This crisis is not inevitable.
It is the result of choices.
And it can be corrected by choices.
The question now is simple:
Will those in power act — or continue to manage decline?
“Sabah SMEs are not asking for protection.
They are asking for fairness.”
