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Borneo Herald
7.35PM MYT, 4-8-2026
Daniel John Jambun agrees to disagree with Datuk Masidi Manjun's logic..
INANAM : Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) refers to the statement by Sabah Deputy Chief Minister II Datuk Masidi Manjun that love for Sabah and loyalty to Malaysia are inseparable.
BoPiMaFo agrees that Sabahans should not be forced to choose between loving Sabah and being loyal to Malaysia.
Sabah is part of Malaysia. Wanting Sabah to be prosperous, respected and fairly treated should strengthen Malaysia, not weaken it.
However, loyalty to Malaysia cannot mean remaining silent about Sabah’s continuing poverty, inadequate infrastructure, limited financial capacity and failure to obtain the full benefit of its natural resources.
Loyalty is not silence. Patriotism is not submission. National unity cannot require Sabahans to accept inequality without question.
WHY SHOULD SABAH NOT BE COMPARED WITH SARAWAK?
Sabahans are sometimes discouraged from comparing Sabah’s performance with Sarawak because the two States supposedly have different circumstances, priorities and challenges.
Certainly, Sabah and Sarawak are not identical.
But they remain the closest and most legitimate benchmarks for comparison.
Both are Bornean territories that participated in the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Both possess substantial petroleum, gas, timber, agricultural land, biodiversity, tourism potential, maritime resources and strategic geographical positions.
Both entered Malaysia with constitutional safeguards and expectations of security, development and meaningful self-government.
Yet, after more than six decades, Sarawak has acquired substantially greater financial capacity, stronger State institutions and considerably more influence over its economic resources.
The question Sabahans are entitled to ask is therefore straightforward:
How did two resource-rich Bornean partners within the same Federation arrive at such different financial and developmental positions?
This is not an expression of jealousy towards Sarawak.
It is a demand for accountability from those who have governed Sabah.
THE FINANCIAL GAP CANNOT BE IGNORED
Sabah’s 2026 State Budget projects revenue of approximately RM6.43 billion, against total estimated expenditure of approximately RM6.40 billion.
Sarawak’s 2026 Budget, in comparison, projects revenue of approximately RM13.05 billion—more than twice Sabah’s projected revenue. Sarawak has also allocated approximately RM9.3 billion for development purposes alone.
Sarawak’s development allocation alone is therefore considerably larger than Sabah’s entire annual State Budget.
These figures do not mean that every Sarawak policy is perfect or that Sarawak has resolved all its social and economic challenges.
But they demonstrate a fundamental truth:
«Possessing natural resources is not enough. What matters is whether a State has the political determination, negotiating strength, competent institutions and long-term strategy to convert those resources into lasting public wealth.»
Sarawak has pursued new sources of State revenue, strengthened State-owned institutions, expanded its participation in petroleum and gas, and invested heavily in infrastructure and strategic industries.
It has also demonstrated that a Bornean government can negotiate firmly with the Federal Government without being disloyal to Malaysia.
SABAH AND SARAWAK HAVE SIMILAR RESOURCES — BUT DIFFERENT OUTCOMES
Sabah also possesses enormous petroleum and gas resources, extensive agricultural land, forests, minerals, fisheries, tourism assets and renewable-energy potential.
For decades, Sabah has contributed enormous wealth to the national economy.
Yet many Sabahans continue to experience unreliable water and electricity supplies, deteriorating roads, inadequate rural connectivity, limited employment opportunities and persistent poverty.
The proper question is not whether Sabah and Sarawak are exactly the same.
The proper question is whether Sabah has:
- defended its constitutional and financial rights as firmly as Sarawak;
- managed its resources as strategically as Sarawak;
- established equally capable State institutions;
- developed comparable recurring sources of State revenue;
- reinvested sufficient resources into infrastructure and human development; and
- maintained a consistent, long-term economic strategy beyond electoral cycles.
These are legitimate public questions that should be answered with facts, policies and measurable outcomes—not dismissed as regionalism or disloyalty.
SABAH ALSO CARRIES AN EXCEPTIONAL NON-CITIZEN POPULATION BURDEN
Any fair comparison must also recognise that Sabah carries a demographic and immigration burden of a magnitude not experienced by Sarawak on the same scale.
Official population estimates for 2025 place Sabah’s total population at approximately 3.76 million. The available official data also establish that Sabah has an exceptionally high non-citizen population compared with the rest of Malaysia.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia previously reported that Sabah alone accounted for more than half of Malaysia’s non-citizen population in the relevant demographic reporting period.
The scale is extraordinary. Recent official estimates have placed Sabah’s non-citizen population at more than one million, representing approximately one-quarter of the State’s population.
Sarawak also has non-citizens, including lawful foreign workers and other migrants. It would therefore be inaccurate to say that Sarawak has no non-citizens.
The accurate and strategically important point is this:
«Sabah carries a vastly larger non-citizen population, both numerically and proportionately, than Sarawak.»
This exceptional demographic situation places additional pressure on Sabah’s:
- hospitals and public-health services;
- schools and educational resources;
- water, electricity and sanitation systems;
- housing and local-government services;
- employment market and wage levels;
- policing and border security;
- immigration enforcement; and
- limited State and federal development resources.
Not every non-citizen is undocumented, and lawful foreign workers make important contributions to Sabah’s economy.
Nevertheless, a population situation involving more than one million non-citizens cannot be dismissed as an ordinary administrative issue.
It is a matter of public finance, national security, border control, sovereignty and the long-term demographic character of Sabah.
THIS IS A FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY, NOT SABAH’S BURDEN ALONE
Sabah’s geographical proximity to the southern Philippines and Indonesia gives it international maritime and land-border responsibilities unlike those faced by most other States.
Border security, citizenship, national registration and the control of undocumented migration are predominantly federal responsibilities.
Yet Sabahans bear many of the direct social, economic and infrastructural consequences.
Sabah’s hospitals, schools, roads, utilities and local authorities must serve a population far greater and more complex than the registered citizen population alone would suggest.
The Federal Government must therefore explain:
1. the verified number of Malaysian citizens, lawful foreign residents and undocumented persons presently residing in Sabah;
2. the estimated annual cost incurred by public institutions in serving and managing Sabah’s non-citizen population;
3. the amount of additional federal funding allocated specifically to meet those costs;
4. the measures being implemented to secure Sabah’s borders and enforce its immigration safeguards;
5. the progress made in addressing the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry concerning immigrants in Sabah; and
6. the safeguards established to protect the integrity of Sabah’s identity-registration and electoral systems.
Sabah cannot be expected to carry a major national border and immigration burden while receiving development resources that remain inadequate to address its basic infrastructure needs.
THE DEMOGRAPHIC BURDEN MAKES THE COMPARISON MORE URGENT
Sabah’s extraordinary population pressures do not make comparison with Sarawak inappropriate.
They make the comparison even more necessary.
Sabah has:
- substantially lower State revenue;
- weaker infrastructure;
- greater dependence on federal funding;
- persistent poverty and rural underdevelopment; and
- an exceptional non-citizen population burden.
Despite all this, Sabah is expected to manage its responsibilities with a financial capacity far below Sarawak’s.
The appropriate response is not to tell Sabahans to stop comparing.
The appropriate response is for the Sabah and Federal Governments to explain what additional revenue, institutional powers and development resources will be provided to overcome these disadvantages.
SARAWAK’S PROGRESS SHOULD BE STUDIED, NOT RESENTED
BoPiMaFo does not advocate hostility or rivalry between Sabah and Sarawak.
Sabah should welcome Sarawak’s progress.
Sarawak has demonstrated what can be achieved when a Bornean government adopts a consistent State-centred strategy, strengthens its own institutions, generates recurring revenue, negotiates firmly with Putrajaya and reinvests substantial funds into development.
Sabah should study Sarawak’s achievements in:
- expanding State-generated revenue;
- building commercially capable State institutions;
- securing a greater role in petroleum and gas;
- creating downstream and value-added industries;
- accumulating strategic investments and assets;
- maintaining policy continuity;
- investing heavily in roads, utilities and rural infrastructure; and
- asserting State rights through negotiation, legislation and legal proceedings.
Sabah need not copy every Sarawak policy.
But it would be irresponsible not to learn from a neighbouring Bornean partner that has obtained significantly greater financial and political leverage within the same Federation.
SABAH’S LEADERS MUST ANSWER THE REAL QUESTIONS
Instead of discouraging comparisons, the Sabah Government should answer:
Why is Sabah’s projected State revenue less than half Sarawak’s?
Why is Sarawak able to allocate approximately RM9.3 billion for development while Sabah’s entire annual State Budget is only about RM6.4 billion?
Why has Sabah not built equally powerful and profitable State institutions?
Why has Sabah not developed revenue mechanisms comparable with those successfully pursued by Sarawak?
Why does resource-rich Sabah continue to experience serious water, electricity and road failures?
Why has Sabah remained so dependent on federal allocations when so much petroleum, gas, timber and other wealth has been extracted from the State?
What is Sabah’s measurable plan to close the revenue, infrastructure and development gap with Sarawak?
These questions should not be dismissed as opposition politics.
They concern the future of every Sabahan.
LOVING SABAH REQUIRES MORE THAN SLOGANS
Flying the Sabah flag, singing patriotic songs and declaring love for Sabah are meaningful expressions of identity.
But love for Sabah must also be demonstrated through action.
It means protecting Sabah’s constitutional rights.
It means securing Sabah’s 40 per cent constitutional entitlement.
It means obtaining a fair return from petroleum, gas and other natural resources.
It means strengthening Sabah’s institutions and preventing waste, leakage and misuse of public funds.
It means providing reliable water, electricity, roads, schools and healthcare.
It means protecting Sabah’s borders and the integrity of its population records.
It means creating properly paid employment so that young Sabahans are not compelled to leave their homeland merely to find a future.
Above all, it means holding leaders accountable for the condition of the State they govern.
LOYALTY MUST BE RECIPROCAL
BoPiMaFo agrees that Sabahans can love Sabah and remain loyal to Malaysia.
But loyalty cannot flow in only one direction.
If Sabah is expected to remain loyal to the Federation, the Federation must remain loyal to the constitutional promises, financial safeguards and founding commitments made to Sabah.
Malaysia must honour Sabah’s rights not merely through ceremonial speeches, but through law, revenue, institutional respect and genuine development.
Sabah’s own political leaders must likewise demonstrate loyalty to the people by defending the State’s interests without fear, favour or excessive dependence on federal political approval.
A stronger Sabah will not weaken Malaysia. A stronger Sabah will strengthen Malaysia.»
But allowing one of Malaysia’s most resource-rich territories to remain poor and underdeveloped will ultimately weaken confidence in the Federation.
COMPARISON IS THE BEGINNING OF IMPROVEMENT
There is nothing wrong with comparing Sabah with Sarawak.
Governments routinely compare revenue, investment, economic growth, infrastructure, employment, education and poverty precisely because comparison reveals weaknesses and encourages improvement.
The dangerous act is not comparison.
The dangerous act is asking Sabahans to stop comparing, stop questioning and simply accept that Sabah’s condition is unavoidable.
Sabah’s underdevelopment is not inevitable.
Sabah possesses the resources, strategic position and human talent to become one of the most prosperous territories in this region.
What Sabah requires is stronger leadership, cleaner governance, competent institutions, a long-term economic strategy and the political determination to defend its lawful interests.
BoPiMaFo therefore states:
«Comparing Sabah with Sarawak is not an act of disloyalty. It is an exercise in democratic accountability.»
«We compare because Sabah can and must do better.
We compare because Sabahans deserve honest answers.
We compare because poverty, failing infrastructure and financial weakness must never be accepted as the permanent destiny of resource-rich Sabah.
The uncomfortable question is not why Sabahans continue to compare Sabah with Sarawak.
The real and unavoidable question is:
Why has resource-rich Sabah been allowed to fall so far behind its Bornean neighbour—and what will the Sabah and Federal Governments do, within a clear and measurable timeframe, to close that gap?»
Daniel John Jambun is President of
Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)#Borneo Herald™
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