Kalabakan S Tangled Loyalties Business Bloodlines And Fight For Merotai

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In Sabah’s southern frontier, politics runs through family ties, business deals and the unspoken weight of community loyalties.
In Kalabakan, politics is not fought in rallies or on billboards.
It unfolds quietly in plantation offices, café corners and family gatherings, where every name, handshake and business tie can decide the next election.
Here, in the far south of Sabah, politics is personal.
“It is not about parties anymore,” said Rafiq Ismail, who runs a small haulage business.
“It is about who you can trust, and who controls what.”
Power shifts quietly
The Merotai constituency, one of four under the Kalabakan parliamentary seat, has become the centre of intrigue.
It is held by Sarifuddin Hata of Warisan, who won in 2020 with a majority of 1,587 votes. However, his strongest challenger may not come from outside, but from within the ruling alliance itself.
Warisan’s Sarifuddin HataFormer assemblyperson Liew Yun Fah, a businessperson turned politician, has been eyeing a return. Yet his own coalition, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), instructed him to stand down in favour of PKR’s Ruji Ubi, a newcomer endorsed by the state leadership.
Locals see this as less about cooperation and more about control.
“Everyone knows who runs the show here. The people at the top have already made up their minds,” said Hamzah Kadir, a contractor in Kalabakan.
“If Liew stands, the whole balance shifts. That is why they want him out.”
Ghosts of 2008
For Liew, this is not the first time his political prospects have been derailed.
Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah president Liew Yun FahIn 2008, his candidacy was abruptly dropped following a dispute between then chief minister Musa Aman and former chief minister Chong Kah Kiat over the Mazu statue in Kudat.
Liew had sided with Musa, angering Chong, who replaced him with ally Peter Phang.
“That episode taught Liew how party politics can turn overnight,” said Dhani Ismail, a Merotai voter.
“He knows how quickly alliances shift.”
Two decades later, history seems to be repeating itself.
Faction wars within GRS
Universiti Malaysia Sabah political analyst Lee Kuok Tiung said the contest in Merotai reflects the turbulence within GRS, where internal loyalties blur coalition lines.
“There is visible tension between local GRS divisions, especially when leaders begin campaigning for preferred candidates before any formal decision is made,” he added.
One of those leaders is Jalani Chachu, better known as Cikgu Jai, head of the Gagasan Rakyat Sabah Merotai division.
He declared his support for Ruji even before caretaker chief minister Hajiji Noor finalised the coalition line-up, a move that symbolised the growing problem of premature endorsements and silent sabotage.
PKR’s Ruji UbiLee said when local leaders jump ahead of the process, it creates confusion.
“Voters start to question who is really in charge,” he added.
Kukusan’s shifting loyalties
Next door in Kukusan, similar fractures are visible.
Incumbent Rina Jainal won the seat in 2020 with a majority of 10 votes under Warisan before defecting to Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, led by Liew.
Although Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah is now part of GRS, Rina’s loyalties appear to have drifted toward Tawau MP Lo Sui Fui, placing her in a different orbit within the same coalition.
Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah’s Rina Jainal“That is why Liew and Lo have not been on good terms for years,” said a local insider.
Lee said such shifting loyalties highlight the fluid nature of east coast politics.
“Here, alliances bend but they do not break. It is about survival, not ideology,” he added.
Sebatik’s quiet struggle
Across the narrow strait lies Sebatik, the island constituency that Hassan A Gani Pg Amir won with a majority of 522 votes.
Here, daily life revolves around water, or the lack of it.
“Sometimes the tap runs dry for a week. We fill tanks and wait for rain,” said Aminah Yusof, who runs a small stall in Kampung Sungai Pukul.
“We used to complain, but now it feels useless. No one listens.”
Fisherfolk Hassan Omar agreed.
“They always promise new pipes before every election. After that, we go back to fetching water from the well. We just learn to live with it,” he said.
A village in SebatikPolitical analyst Tony Paridi Bagang said Sebatik’s endurance is typical of the east coast, where hardship has become normalised.
“People here have grown immune to service problems.
“That quiet endurance should not be mistaken for satisfaction,” he added.
Tanjong Batu and the Bugis heartland
Further inland, Tanjong Batu, held by Andi Suryady Bandy of Umno, who won with a majority of 2,123 votes, anchors the Kalabakan region’s economic corridor linking plantations to the Pan Borneo Highway and the Indonesian border.
Kalabakan MP Andi Suryady BandyKalabakan, which comprises Merotai, Kukusan, Tanjong Batu and Sebatik, is often described as Sabah’s Bugis heartland, where politics and kinship are deeply intertwined.
Here, Tony said identity politics is inseparable from power and resource distribution.
“My earlier thought on Sempornanisation reflects an aspect of identity politics. The Bugis community may perceive this as a threat or challenge to their position politically, socially, culturally, and economically.
“Although the incumbent, Sarifuddin, is of Bugis descent, his affiliation with Warisan has created a sense of fear within the Bugis community,” he explained.
He said the local dynamics differ sharply from the Kadazandusun majority areas of Sabah’s interior.
“Perhaps here, the identity politics is shaped by the competing narratives of Sempornanisation and Bugisnisation,” he added.
These two narratives, he said, are not just cultural but structural.
“They are closely linked to the political economic nexus and bureaucratic representation, showing how ethnicity intersects with access to power, influence and resources.” - Mkini

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