COMMENT | For the past three weeks, I have driven through much of Sabah, from Tawau to Kalabakan, across Lahad Datu and Beluran, into Telupid, Sandakan, Tambunan and Keningau.

The roads change, so do the town centres, but one thing remains constant: conversations about undocumented migrants, and how the issue still shapes political thinking in ways many may not immediately recognise.

It does not dominate every discussion, nor does it appear in every ceramah. But it sits there, often unspoken, carried in memories, rumours or daily experiences, depending on which part of Sabah you are standing in.

The differences are stark.

Where the issue is lived, not imagined

In Tawau’s Kukusan, a night ceramah by Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah leader...