PRIME Minister Najib Razak is “a worried man”, the crowd, who gathered at Parti Warisan Sabah’s meet-the-people tour at Kota Marudu on March 5, heard.

And he is worried because “a political tsunami is about to take place in Sabah”, the party’s president Shafie Apdal said to roars of approval.

While the 3,000 people, who had turned up in the sweltering afternoon, were smaller than the 12,000-strong gathering in Lahad Datu the night before, Shafie’s supporters were no less boisterous and enthusiastic.

Wearing a black baseball cap with the word “Ubah” (change) on it, Shafie told the people in this farming community, 130km north of Kota Kinabalu, that poor policies of the Barisan Nasional government had made life difficult for Sabah folk.

“The people of Sabah have decided what they want. They want to change,” Shafie said, which triggered shouts of “Ubah” (change) and “undi Warisan” (vote Warisan).

Kota Marudu, a town and district that celebrates an annual maize festival, is also home to the Dusun, the largest of several ethnic groups in Sabah.

Kota Marudu is a BN stronghold, with acting Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Maximus Johnity Ongkili as their member of parliament for the last three terms.

Ongkili is also the minister of energy, green technology and water.

The rakyat’s desire for change, Shafie said, was spurred by the hardship that was exacerbated by lack of employment opportunities and uneven distribution of wealth.

The former Umno vice-president pointed to the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) in Pengerang, Johor, as an example of the poor relocation of resources by the federal government.

“Does Johor have gas? Does Johor have oil?” he asked the crowd, who responded with a passionate “no!”.

“Why build the complex in Johor? They should have built it in Sabah.

“We have the oil and the gas. Why do we need to see our young people leave home and go far away to look for jobs?”

According to the Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation agency, the PIPC will be built on a plot of land measuring about 8,000ha and will house refineries, naphtha crackers, petrochemical plants as well as a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and a regasification plant.

In Kota Marudu, Shafie also slammed national oil company Petronas for failing to give the state the 20% in oil and gas royalty it demanded.

He urged his supporters to be steadfast in their efforts to remove the Umno-led BN state government, and told them “not to sell their votes” as a change in government would finally bring an improvement to the lives of Sabahans.

“This election is important for Umno. But it’s more important for Sabah.” – April 2, 2017.