Luqman's musings

  Sabahans are told that recent financial maneuvers are not “bailouts.” Yet when we examine the details — from the RM200 million conversion at SDBank to the RM8 billion diverted from development funds — the real issue is not labels. It is the failure of supervision that allowed institutions to deteriorate and debts to become questionable.   The RM200 Million Conversion The State Government converted RM200 million in deposits into Redeemable Preference Shares (RPS) at SDBank. Critics called it a bailout. In reality, it was a risk management decision to strengthen the Bank’s capital base and avoid exposing the State to RM3 billion in liabilities. LINK

“Some people think that the truth can be hidden with a little cover-up and decoration. But as time goes by, what is true is revealed, and what is fake fades away.” While social media frequently rages over directly misappropriated public funds, we completely ignore a much silent, equally devastating drain on our resources: systemic infrastructural mismanagement.

                                                               Luqman Michel <luqmanmichel@gmail.com> Jul 20, 2026, 6:22 AM (1 day ago) to feedback, reporters Dear Editor, I read with interest your recent coverage of Johnson Tee’s column on Sabah’s pothole crisis. His piece rightly described our crumbling roads as a national issue, but I wish to add further reflections on the deeper causes that keep Sabah trapped in this cycle.

  On 12 June, the Federal Government released RM600 million. The remaining RM900 million will only be paid once a new Special Grant Order is gazetted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution . But how exactly is this public money being spent on the ground? Here’s one example: a playground being built at Golf Garden, Penampang .

                                                                      Bottomless Pit In his latest column for The Borneo Post (19 July 2026), Datuk Johnson Tee pulls no punches. Titled “The cost of the pothole: Why Sabah’s crumbling roads are a national crisis,” the piece lays bare a problem many Sabahans live with daily: roads so damaged they’ve become a genuine public safety and economic emergency . Tee highlights a staggering official figure — over 73,000 potholes recorded on federal roads in Sabah between 2023 and 2024, with thousands more since. Read the article here. LINK

  Lions Club scandal In 2017 my complaints to the Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu Host were not taken seriously. The club maintained 3 secret bank accounts into which funds were deposited and misused. Money meant for the poor and needy was diverted by wealthy members. A simple solution would have been to declare that such acts would cease and to close those accounts. Instead, the members chose to expel me from the club. I approached senior members, but none were willing to take the bull by the horns. They mistakenly believed that once expelled, I could not act against the club. To cut the story short, ROS acted on my complaint and deregistered the club for over a year .   You may read the back cover of my simple narrative found at LINK Copies are available from my house at RM10.00 each. The book is now out of print.