“DISAPPOINTED” is first word that comes to mind for Sipitang voters when asked what they thought about their MP, Yamani Hafez Musa, who went missing for six months and who only just took his oath of office after several warnings from the Dewan Rakyat speaker.

They also described him as “childish” and “irresponsible”, with some even wondering if they had voted for the wrong candidate in the last elections, given the myriad of problems they faced in their underdeveloped constituency.

Civil servant Awang Khairuddin, 40, who came to know of Yamani’s oath-taking from local news, said the MP was treating his duty as a lawmaker “like a game”.

“I am beyond disappointed I had voted someone who thinks this is just a game,” Awang told The Malaysian Insight which visited the Sipitang federal seat following Yamani’s swearing-in on Monday.

“He has a responsibility to his constituents. He should come forward and apologise and tell us what happened.”

Awang said Yamani could have lost in GE14 had it not been for the strong support from Sabah Umno grassroots members in the state seat of Lumadan, which is under the Sipitang federal seat, near Sabah’s border with Lawas district in Sarawak.

Sipitang is a gateway to Brunei and Sarawak and has 31,882 voters who are largely Malay, Kedayan and Bisaya. 

Yamani, the son of former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman, was a first-time candidate and captured the seat by 852 votes against his closest rival from Warisan in a three-cornered fight.

He “disappeared” after winning the seat, amid the drama involving his father, who was in a race against time to be sworn in as chief minister after the election resulted in a hung assembly.

Musa then went “missing” and later emerged in London where he sought medical treatment.

Yamani was also seen in a photo with Musa at a medical facility believed to be in London.

After several warnings from the Dewan Rakyat speaker that he should take his oath of office within six months after Parliament convened or lose the seat, Yamani was sworn in on Monday.

His rival for the seat, Warisan’s Noor Hayaty Mustapha, said Yamani’s oath-taking just before the end of the six-month deadline is irresponsible and he owes Sipitang voters an explanation.

“His position is a mandate from the people, not a privilege to do whatever he wants,” she said, adding that there is much work to be done in the constituency.

Noor Hayaty said Sipitang folk are still complaining about water and electricity supply even after years of Barisan Nasional rule.

“The youths can’t find work and if they do, they are paid very little,” she said, noting that casual work in the area paid as little as RM20 a day.

Sipitang also lacked basic amenities, she added, and gave no reason to businessmen to invest here. This is despite its agro-tourism potential and strategic access to Brunei, Sarawak and Labuan.

For voters like Sabri Mahmud, Yamani’s disappearance suggested he had done something wrong. 

“Otherwise, why did he go missing for as long as he did? Did he fear coming back because the authorities would investigate him?” said Sabri, pointing to the 35 graft charges Yamani’s father, Musa, faces.

Musa was charged in early November with receiving US$63 million as inducements for awarding timber concessions during his time as chief minister.

Coffee-shop owner Norsiah Abdullah said Sipitang has been neglected for so long that it did not matter whether Yamani took his oath or not.

“Even under Umno, nothing much changed. We are still facing water supply problems, especially during the evenings,” she said, hoping the new Warisan-led government would perform better.

Norsiah has lost customers at her coffee shop in the last two years because of the financial troubles at Sabah Forestry Industries Sdn Bhd, which shut its nearby paper mill in 2017.

“The workers were among our main customers and had kept the local economy going while the mill lasted. Since the mill closed, there are no more crowds.”

The only thing that sustains Norsiah’s coffee shop are visitors from Brunei and workers from a construction site of a portion of the Pan-Borneo highway nearby. 

“However, the Brunei shoppers are seasonal. But once they are here, they really spend big,” she said. 

Vegetable seller Chin Lee Yi at the Sipitang fresh market saw her business drop by 50% following the SFI mill closure.

She has grouses to air but her MP is not around.

“I hear that the sub-district office plans to increase the monthly rental of stalls here from RM20 a month to RM80.

“Business had worsened since the mill closed and now the authorities want to raise the rent. I think it would make a difference if Yamani had been around.” – January 10, 2019.