Bung Moktar calls for accountability over Sabah job woes

The Star

22-05-2025

KOTA KINABALU: The lack of quality employment in Sabah has resulted in young Sabahans migrating to Peninsular Malaysia in search of better opportunities, says Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
The Sabah Umno chief cited an article stating that around 200,000 Sabahans were working in the peninsula in 2022 due to the lack of adequate opportunities back home.
'The Statistics Department of Malaysia (DOSM) findings indicate that higher salaries, between RM2,000 and RM4,999, offered elsewhere are the main reason for this migration.
'The reality is that Sabah is losing its skilled and professional talent, people who should drive the state's development. This results from weak policies, poor economic planning, and the absence of high-impact large-scale investments,' Bung Moktar added.
He wants the Sabah government to explain why the state has the highest unemployment rate in the country despite various claims of development.
'It is our responsibility to speak the truth, a truth that cannot be masked by optimistic figures alone. Unemployment and economic growth are clear indicators of a government's actual performance,' he said in a statement on Thursday (May 22).
Citing figures from the DOSM, Bung Moktar said Sabah continues to record the highest unemployment rate in the country.
'In the fourth quarter of 2024, some 178,000 Sabahans, or 7.7% of the population, were unemployed. This is significantly higher than Sarawak (3.3%), Kedah (1.7%), and Kelantan (3.8%). Although there has been a slight drop from 9.1% in 2022, the figures remain alarming,' he said.
For comparison, he added, Sabah's unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2017 stood at just 5.9% (111,000 people) when Barisan Nasional governed the state under the leadership of then chief minister Tun Musa Aman.
'This shows that the administration at the time successfully laid a strong economic foundation, attracted foreign direct investments, and created job opportunities across various sectors.
'I therefore urge the people of Sabah to open their eyes and assess the true performance of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor's administration.
'I demand a sincere explanation, not just polished reports on paper. The people of Sabah deserve competent, transparent, and accountable leadership, not a government that continues to burden lives through administrative failure,' he said.