Hajiji Noor is known to his constituents as a man of few words.
But this has not been a handicap for him as he has succeeded in getting his message across effectively to the voters, who have consistently been returning him as their rep in the polls since 1990.
He is now finishing his 6th term as the Sulaman representative. And if his supporters get their wish, he will be serving his 7th term after the 14th general election (GE14).
Besides being a long-time assemblyman, he now also serves as the state local government and housing minister and the treasurer of Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno.
“He may not speak much but he gets a lot done,” said Tuaran district chief Daud Sidek, an admirer.
“There have been so many changes in Sulaman over the years and it is obviously due to Hajiji’s leadership. Roads, electricity and water supply are available at almost all kampungs,” he said.
“And if he is in Tuaran, he is always out and about looking out for needy families and making sure they get help.”
Hajiji was re-elected in Sulaman with a 10,441-vote majority – almost double his victory margin in 2008 — in a five-cornered contest in the 2013 polls.
He secured 13,065 votes in 2013 while his closest rival, Gulabdin Enjih of PKR, obtained only 2,624 votes.
STAR’s David Orok received 225 votes while independents Ali Bakar Kawi and Ariffin Harith could only get 615 and 66 votes respectively.
Hajiji says he is satisfied with what he has achieved for his constituents over the years.
But he sees his mission as being still incomplete and hopes the 23,000 voters in the constituency will give him the opportunity to continue his work and bring more progress to the areas after GE14.
One of the things that literally lights up his face is his success in bringing electricity supply to many of the houses in the most remote corners of this coastal district, about 40km north of the Sabah capital.
He is also proud that there are roads connecting all 77 villages within Sulaman that, along with the state seats of Kiulu and Tamparuli, make up the Tuaran parliamentary constituency.
With virtually all villagers having access to basic infrastructure and facilities, Hajiji wants to turn his attention to improving the livelihood of the folks there.
A majority of the population there are ethnic Bajau who traditionally have been involved in coastal fishing.
“What I would like to see is the development of a one village-one industry movement,” he said, adding this would ensure rural communities benefit from Tuaran’s burgeoning tourism activities.
Hajiji said a handful of villagers had ventured into stingless beekeeping for “madu kelulut” (honey) while others have started to produce local delicacies, such as “serunding tuhau” (spicy dried wild ginger floss).
“We are trying to get more people involved in these small-scale businesses which will provide them a steady source of income,” he said, adding that the income of some families had increased by as much as RM2,000 a month through such ventures.
Hajiji said many Sulaman folk had also benefited from tourism-related activities such as having jobs at the three seaside resorts.
The Mengkabong traditional water village has also become a tourism destination.
Other tourism activities there include river cruises to watch fireflies and jungle trekking.
“I would like to see more of the community involved in these tourism activities and not have to look for jobs elsewhere,” said the soft-spoken Hajiji.
Hajiji said folks around Tuaran were also looking forward to having a sports complex in the district.
Many Tuaran folk share district chief Daud’s belief in Hajiji and are confident he will get a bigger majority in GE14.
Daud said there was an expectation that former Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal’s Parti Warisan Sabah would likely be among the opposition groups to take on Hajiji in Sulaman this time around.
“But they will not make much of an impact. These are the same disgruntled faces we see over and over again,” he added.