Sabah Politics: Can We Trust Leaders Who Hide Behind Silence?

                                                                    

                                                             Who is this authority?

The LJS “Mysterious Authority” Scandal Publication

How are we to trust our present politicians and our opposition politicians if they can’t even find out from Lembaga Juruukur Sabah (LJS) who the “authority” is?

Three years after I lodged my complaint about the fabricated “as-built” survey plans at Taman Puncak Vistana Heights, LJS inspected the site in June 2023. Their report remains locked away. Their repeated excuse? It is “awaiting verification from the authority.” When pressed in writing and in person, LJS refuses to name this mysterious authority. Not a ministry, not a department, not even a person. Just “the authority.”

 

I appealed directly to Datuk Shafie Apdal, under whose watch the project was approved. He promised to follow up. Nothing. I emailed the current Chief Minister, Datuk Hajiji Noor. No reply. Neither the ruling coalition nor the opposition has demanded that LJS simply name who is blocking the report.

Are the politicians protecting each other?

This question is no longer abstract. It stares every Sabahan in the face.

What about the Sabahans who read my posts? The ordinary families in Taman Puncak Vistana Heights and across Sabah who follow these updates, who share them, who hope that exposing the truth will finally bring change? Many are B40 households struggling with daily costs, relying on meagre SARA aid, and now discovering that even basic justice – a survey report – is denied to them. They read, they comment, they wait. Yet the silence from both sides of the political divide tells them their concerns are inconvenient.

What about the politicians who shout about supporting Warisan and YB Shafie Apdal? The ones who fill social media and ceramahs with passionate declarations of loyalty to the opposition leader and his promises of reform? Where is that fire now? Why have none of them pressed YB Shafie to honour his own promise and force LJS to reveal the authority? Why the loud support in public but absolute quiet when it comes to holding their own leader accountable on a straightforward issue affecting Sabahans?

This is not just about one housing project. It is about a culture where performance replaces principle.

Look at the pattern I have documented in recent posts on this blog:

In “Update on Vistana Heights: My Direct Appeal to YB Datuk Shafie Apdal” (April 18), a direct appeal produced only silence.

In “How Do Sabahans Seek Justice?” (April 12), the struggle of ordinary citizens against systemic stonewalling.

In “When a Defence Is Filed Without Authority” and “Fabricated Evidence in Court Documents,” how questionable documents and claims move through the system while real accountability stalls.

Regulatory bodies offering excuses, ignored emails to the Chief Minister, and the broader critique of bureaucratic inertia hidden behind privatisation talk.

 

The theatre continues: politicians shout at each other in public for the rakyat’s applause, then retreat backstage where protecting the system matters more than serving the people. Why name the “mysterious authority” when doing so might expose how deeply the rot runs?

Sabahans are not asking for miracles. We are asking for basic honesty: Who is this authority? Why is it untouchable? And why do both government and opposition treat it as off-limits?

If our elected leaders – whether in the ruling coalition or those waving the Warisan flag – cannot compel a statutory body like LJS to answer a simple question, then what hope do we have for real reform on land titles, corruption, or cost-of-living issues?

To every Sabahan reading this: your voice matters. Share these posts. Ask your YBs the same question. Demand they stop the theatre and start serving the rakyat who elected them.

Until politicians on all sides break this silence and force transparency from LJS, trust is dead. What remains is theatre for the people – and silence for the system that protects the powerful.

The Vistana Heights saga is a small window. But if leaders cannot even open it, Sabah deserves better.

These are my personal observations and musings. The rakyat deserves answers, not excuses.