Facing the Unfaceable: A Baldwin Reminder for Sabah's Silent Sentinels

                                                                      

In the dim corridors of Sabah's bureaucracy, where emails vanish into the ether and meetings dissolve like morning mist, James Baldwin's words cut through the fog like a lighthouse beam. "Not everything that is faced can be changed," he reminds us, "but nothing can be changed until it is faced." For three agonizing years, my battle over Vistana Heights—a once-dreamy hillside haven turned bureaucratic nightmare—has been a testament to this truth. And today, with election whispers in the air and integrity programs like Varsha dangling like unripe fruit, it's time to stare down the shadows.

Picture this: Civil servants who treat inquiries like spam, deleting them unread or, worse, twisting minutes to suit their narrative. "Take it to court," they shrug, as if justice were a vending machine for the persistent few. Authorities rubber-stamping occupancy certificates on whispers of fabricated plans, while the Housing Ministry (KPKT) ghosts follow-ups on police reports like R141774. That vital KKTP meeting? Postponed indefinitely, a diplomatic dodge that leaves families in limbo. And the politicians—oh, the seat-warmers in Putrajaya and Kota Kinabalu—who nod at anti-corruption rallies but let pleas from ordinary folk like me gather dust in their inboxes.

I've fired off emails to YB Datuk Seri Safar Untong, the State Secretary; to PDRM and KPKT for that elusive meeting; even to Datuk James Ratib, champion of Varsha's transparency vows. Silence. Echoes from Sarawak's "Little Napoleons" critique ring true here too—a fortress of indifference shielding the powerful, turning citizens into nuisances. My open letter to YAB Chief Minister Hajiji Haji Noor? Another arrow into the void.

But Baldwin didn't mince words for the faint-hearted. Facing it doesn't mean polite pleas; it means demanding the mirror. To you, the civil servants altering truths and evading accountability: Your indifference isn't efficiency—it's erosion. Respond to those emails; honor those minutes; address the questions, not the courts. To the authorities wielding stamps like scepters: Verify before you certify. Fabricated plans build crumbling trust. Housing Ministry, fix that meeting—families aren't pawns in your scheduling game. KPKT, your silence screams louder than any report. And politicians, rise from those warmed seats. Complaints aren't confetti; they're cries for the Sabah you swore to serve.

Change isn't inevitable, but it's impossible without confrontation. Let's modernize mediation like India's swift housing tribunals, ignite public dialogues, and wield Varsha not as PR polish but as a scalpel against subtle graft. I've faced the fortress; now, face me back. Reply. Act. Because in the words of Baldwin, until we do, nothing shifts.

What say you, sentinels? The ballot box looms, but the people endure. Let's build a Sabah where homes are havens, not hurdles.