Sabahans appear to be somewhat positive about their future in the Federation of Malaysia. That’s the impression I got when speaking to some of them recently.

I was on a short visit to Sabah and took the opportunity to talk to as many ordinary people as possible about politics.

What I’m writing here is therefore based on my interaction with random people, not an analysis based on data or the views of experts.

Most of those I spoke to said the situation had improved slightly under the Anwar Ibrahim administration and that something “good” was happening to Sabah, although not all were able to say exactly what or to give examples. They all felt the Anwar administration was beginning to treat them with the respect they deserved.

As one man told me: “Malaysia was formed by the separate entities of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (Singapore later went its way). But we were being treated as if we were the same as Perlis or Kedah or Pahang which are states in Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia).

“We were robbed of our dignity and resources by various federal governments based in the peninsula, partly because of the weakness of our own leaders, especially some of our earlier leaders.”

He said one of the biggest blows to Sabah was when the federal government gave ownership of oil and gas to Petronas although most of these resources came from Sabah and Sarawak.

“All we got was a very small amount (5%). Revenue from our oil and gas was used to develop Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia) but we remained poor.”

Another person said his father had told him that there was a time when Sabahans were arrested under the Internal Security Act for talking about returning Sabah’s rights. But that this was not the case anymore as the ISA had been repealed.

Still, the man said, in the 2000s, whenever someone raised the issue of equal status or implementation of the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 (MA63), the federal government used to give vague answers or make empty promises and that often Sabahans and Sarawakians were told that the government was “working on MA63” or that the issues would be “resolved soon”.

“But it never happened. There was only talk. Even some of our own leaders who made noise while in Sabah became rather quiet when appointed to the federal cabinet or were given other positions by the federal government.

“However, under the current unity government, we are gaining back the respect that was lost. Many of the MA63 agreement elements have been or are being implemented.”

As an example, he said, Sabah’s gas supply was now in Sabah’s hands, referring to a move by the federal government to transfer regulatory power over Sabah’s gas supply from Putrajaya to the state government though Petronas.

One man, agreeing that there was indeed some positive movement, said he had read that the federal government was finalising the transfer of its reserve land in Sabah and Sarawak to the two states. He also said Putrajaya had allowed the Sabah government to handle millions in projects, referring to the finance ministry’s decision to hand over authority for the approval of development projects worth up to RM50 million to the Sabah and Sarawak governments, in line with the MA63 agreement.

He was proud that representatives from Sabah and Sarawak were now sitting on the Internal Revenue Board, referring to an administrative decision to allow this while waiting for a bill on such appointments to be tabled in Parliament to make it lawful.

Many of those I spoke to were, however, unable to cite exact reasons for their positive stance regarding the new government other than to say Sabah was being treated better than it was previously.

Some were sceptical and did not expect the changes to make any difference to their daily lives.

An elderly man said: “Yes, finally there is some movement as far as MA63 and the return of our rights are concerned. But we have to wait and see if people like us actually get to enjoy the benefits.”

Asked about his scepticism, he replied that things had been the same in Sabah no matter which party ruled.

“It’s always the same. In the newspapers you’ll find there is much change as announcements are made and visits by VIPs are undertaken to this and that place. There has been some physical development no doubt but our lives remain the same.

“Politicians and their cronies have become richer but the people remain poor. Now with rising prices, we are in trouble. I hope that the benefits of allocations from Putrajaya and the restoration of MA63 will be shared with us ordinary folk but I’m not so certain it will happen.”

When I asked about the current state government, most of them said they had learned not to expect too much.

One person said Sabahans connected to people in power had become rich over the years and he didn’t expect the situation to change.

Another said despite announcements about fund allocations, Sabah’s infrastructure didn’t see much progress. He said there was a joke that if you wanted to see the moon all you had to do is look at Sabah’s roads and you’d see moons (huge potholes) all over the place.

I think he was exaggerating as I didn’t notice huge potholes on the roads in those parts of Kota Kinabalu and its suburbs that I travelled.

Another man was more optimistic, saying chief minister Hajiji Noor appeared to be sincere in wanting to see Sabah progress.

Expressing hope that the lives of Sabahans would improve over the next few years, he added: “It has to improve; at least we are getting back our dignity.”

Next: Sabah’s frogs

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.