SABAH POLLS | Fed up after decades without basic services, the residents of two remote Sabah villages have taken the extraordinary step of suing their former assemblypersons and the state leadership, saying years of appeals went nowhere.
Residents of Kampung Sonsogon Makatol Darat in Kota Marudu and Kampung Minusoh in Tongod named caretaker chief minister Hajiji Noor, incumbent Tandek assemblyperson Hendrus Anding, and incumbent Kuamut assemblyperson Masiung Banah as defendants.
All three leaders are defending their seats under Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, with Hajiji attempting to retain Sulaman.
The Chief Minister’s Office and the state government are also named in the lawsuits.
Kota Marudu and Tongod are among the eight poorest districts in Malaysia.
Court documents show the suits were filed today through Messrs Nohin and Partners, which is the legal firm acting for both villages.
The villagers are seeking court declarations that those Sabah leaders owe constitutional and fiduciary duties to native communities, along with mandatory orders requiring the state to finally deliver the basic infrastructure they say has been denied for generations.
The lawsuits were filed just two days before polling day this Saturday, but villagers insisted the timing reflects nothing more than prolonged neglect. For them, the decision was not political — it was survival.
In Kampung Minusoh, years of waiting eventually collapsed into resignation. Village representative Lius Meliton said the lawsuit was the community’s final option after decades of unanswered pleas.
“It is not desperation, and it is not politics. This is our constitutional right as Sabahans. We are not here for fun. We came because we have reached the breaking point,” he said.
Lius may be referring to Article 5 and Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantee the right to life, dignity and equal protection under the law.
Their lawyers said the state bears direct responsibility for rural infrastructure under the Ninth Schedule, grounding the lawsuit not only in lived hardship but in constitutional duty.
Accumulated frustration
Lius described journeys that cut across districts and entire livelihoods.
In medical emergencies, the nearest fully equipped hospital is in Sandakan, a seven-hour trip through Tongod and Beluran.
Families pay RM500 to RM600 just to reach the hospital, a cost impossible for most villagers who are poor.
“We were always told, ‘wait’ or ‘be patient’. But nothing happened,” he said.
Far inside Kota Marudu, life in Kampung Sonsogon Makatol Darat is similarly bleak.
The village has no road, no bridge and no vehicle access. Residents walk narrow forest paths for hours just to reach the nearest settlement.
From the closest police outpost, it takes more than two hours on foot simply to begin the journey toward the village, and a full round trip can consume an entire day.
When the river floods, the fallen tree trunk that acts as their only crossing is swept away, leaving them entirely cut off.
Jaikon Majumban, who travelled out to give his account, said the lawsuit reflects years of accumulated frustration and the feeling of being abandoned by every government in succession.
“We had no other way left and no paths open to us. We had to come here because we are still human beings. Human beings with dignity,” he said.
He then spoke plainly about how they felt treated.
“We are treated like orangutans. How many leaders have changed. But we were never seen as humans by them,” he said.
The village, he added, has lasted for over ten generations.
“We were born there, we want to die there, and we want to be buried there,” he said.
Recycled promises
Both communities said the same promises have been recycled for more than two decades. The roads never arrived, the water supply remains untreated, and there are no power supplies or communication lines.
In Kampung Sonsogon Makatol Darat, they only relied on the air medical services.
As polling day approaches, the Kampung Minusoh villagers are calling for honesty from political parties.
“Do not make empty promises just to win votes. Enough is enough. If your promises are not fulfilled, we will rise. We will not be silent anymore,” Lius said. - Mkini
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