Sabah MPs raise viral food rider 'assault' in budget debate

PARLIAMENT | Two Sabahan MPs said economic imbalances drove youths from their state to seek work in Peninsular Malaysia, where they face alleged discrimination.

Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Warisan-Kota Belud) and Verdon Bahanda (IND-Kudat) highlighted recent reports of an alleged altercation between an apartment security guard and a Sabahan food delivery rider.

“Just because of his (delivery rider’s) Sabahan slang. He was thought to be a foreigner.

“The thing that hurts Sabahans the most, is when they are asked, ‘Why is your language different?’

“Do you know how that feels? Like a foreigner,” said Isnaraissah during her committee stage debate of the Supply Bill 2024 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

She issued a stern reminder on how Sabah as well as Sarawak, since joining Malaya in 1963 to form Malaysia, have significantly contributed to the nation’s economic prosperity through their natural resources.

“Is Sabah recognised? Give us some respect! Even though our friends are just low-grade workers.

“Remember this, without Sabah and Sarawak, there will be no Malaysia!” she said.

Earlier, Isnaraissah again raised a suggestion for the federal government to channel a special development allocation to the state through a consolidated trust account.

The suggestion, she said, has yet to be taken up despite similar calls by other Sabah MPs and the state government.

She asked the federal government to explain the necessary processes for such a special allocation and whether it would require a constitutional amendment or would only need Treasury Instructions.

Poor and discriminated

Meanwhile, Verdon sought clarification on an RM100 million allocation for high-impact projects, saying his constituency remained among the poorest in the nation.

Echoing Isnaraissah’s condemnation of the alleged discrimination, he said, “There are still those who view us like foreigners until they can’t even recognise the language we use (in Sabah).

“So I appeal to the government to give more attention to these poor areas,” he said.

On Friday (Nov 3), Dang Wangi deputy district police chief Nazron Abd Yusof reportedly said investigations are ongoing over a fight between two individuals, based on viral videos of the incident which identified the victim as being from Sabah.

The next day, Sinar Harian reported that the two individuals apologised to each other, but police confirmed investigations under Section 233 of the Penal Code will remain.

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