Growing up just two minutes from the ocean, Kimanis Bersatu Youth chief Ridzuan Firdaus is confident in his ability to stay afloat amid Sabah’s uncertain political tides - even if, as he admits, he’s still a “small fry” with big ambitions.

The 35-year-old Bersatu Youth exco member has set his sights on Bongawan, one of two state seats under the Kimanis parliamentary constituency - a fishing town along Sabah’s west coast famed for its prized blue-eyed anchovies.