Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

Hajiji is often noted for his friendly and soft-spoken demeanour, which mask a highly pragmatic, resilient strategist and highly effectively at negotiation in politics and Sabah/Federal relation. 

Hajiji is not a simple man that many, including most of his political opponents and some in government, have mistakenly taken for granted. Those who think he is soft do not know the man.

A simple man could not have survived long in Sabah’s turbulent politics, sometimes like shifting sand dunes in a desert storm.

His political record speaks for him. Hajiji’s undefeated streak in near 40 years in the Sulaman state constituency, a seat he has held continuously since 1990, is one of the most remarkable records in Malaysia’s notoriously volatile political landscape.

His consecutive win over seven terms, while transitioning through multiple political parties and coalition collapses, is not accidental. It stems from a combination of local entrenchment, par excellence political pragmatism, and a leadership style tailored to Sabah’s unique dynamics. 

In all these years since 1990, he has held important offices like the Local Government Ministry, Minister of Finance and now the Chief Minister.

Reflecting his exceptional good run in politics for almost 40 years, his strategy must have been brilliant and in many respects, very similar to the principles of Sun Tzu’s strategy classic “The Art of War”.

SUN TZU’S PHILOSOPHY ON STRATEGY IS STILL BEING ADMIRED AND PRACTISED AFTER 2500 YEARS.

Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” is probably the most brilliant master piece on strategy in history. 2500 years old and it is still widely, admired, studied and adopted by political and corporate leaders in the east as well as in the west in the 21st century. Sun Tzu is still very much relevant in the world of AI.

“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance WITHOUT FIGHTING “. His logic, though simply, is perfect. This is my favourite strategy of Sun Tzu and is probably the closest in similarity to Hajiji’s style. 

HAJIJI HAS REGAINED MOST RIGHTS/CONCESSIONS FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

This is easily verifiable in the public domain. Hajiji has regained economic rights and/or rebalanced Sabah/Federal relationship which has been heavily tilted in favour of Putrajaya at great expense of Sabah in the past.

By adopting a strategy of diplomatic negotiation and maintaining stable relations with Putrajaya, rather than outright confrontation, Hajiji has managed to regain/extract some of the most significant rights/concessions from the federal government in Sabah’s history. 

Under the framework of the MA63, Hajiji has successfully regained control over several critical areas of autonomy and finance. 

[1] Energy and Utility Autonomy

For decades, Sabah’s power grid and resources were regulated by Federal. Hajiji successfully clawed back control over these vital sectors to the state: 

[a] On-Shore Gas and petroleum: 

Regained full regulatory authority over the supply of on-shore gas. Also rights to share benefits of upstream exploration without investment risks.

[b] Electricity and Renewable Energy: 

Took back regulatory control over the state’s power grid from the Federal Energy Commission. Sabah now manages its own power sector through Energy Commission of Sabah (ECoS). 

Under Sabah’s control, ECOS, which has an all-Sabahan team, has drawn up a plan and it is being implemented. By 2030, Sabah’s power problems will be over. Approvals for power generation took years when Putrajaya was in charge. Now, only months. 

[2] Historic Increases in Special Financial Grants 

While staunchly maintaining the ultimate goal of the constitutional 40% net revenue entitlement, Hajiji has negotiated massive, staggered increases to Sabah’s interim special grants while the primary mechanism is being finalized:

Pre-2022: Stagnant at ~RM26.7 million annually for decades. 

2022–2024: Increased to RM125.6 million, and then RM300 million. 

2025: Doubled to RM600 million. 

May 2026: Secured an unprecedented RM1.5 billion interim grant from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. 

[3] Administrative Control over Infrastructure

Putrajaya’s bureaucracy has historically bottlenecked Sabah’s development. Hajiji has regained the authority for the state to execute its own projects: 

Sub-RM50 Million Projects: The federal government agreed to allow Sabah to directly approve, procure, and manage federal infrastructure and development projects valued under RM50 million without going through Putrajaya.

Rural Water Supply (April 2026): Secured the transfer of authority over rural piped water supply projects from the Federal Rural and Regional Development Ministry, giving the state direct control over allocations exceeding RM4 billion. 

[4] Constitutional Recognition

This is huge for Sabah’s future. Hajiji’s administration successfully pushed for the 2021 amendments to Article 1(2) and Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution. This formally integrated the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) into the constitution, legally restoring Sabah and Sarawak’s status as equal founding partners of the nation, rather than just two of 13 states.

[5] Hajiji has publicly stated the state will not compromise on this constitutional right. 

[6] Economically most important is that Hajiji has succeeded to transform Sabah from production of commodity to value added manufacturing. Examples: Most notable are Nexilus and Kibing. 

KKIP and SOGIP are full. 3 New industrial parks are being planned. POIC LD has obtained FZ [Free Zone] which is the first in Sabah. Plans are being finalized for a major expansion.

[7] Setting Sabah on a much strong financial structure.

The most visible indicator of Hajiji’s economic restructuring is the explosive growth of the state’s actual revenue. By modernizing tax collection, enforcing the State Sales Tax on petroleum products, and expanding the industrial tax base, Sabah’s revenue doubled within his first few years. The state has successfully hit a historic revenue high of RM6.842 billion in 2024, completely redefining the state’s spending capacity. There has been budget surplus consistently.

[8] Sabah to set up a Sovereign Fund.

The setting up of Sabah’s Sovereign Fund is reflective of long-term prudent planning and will benefit future generations of Sabahans.

DEALING WITH FEDERAL LEADERS ARE VERY DIFFICULT BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE. 

Those who think Sabah’s rights can be resolved by fighting head on is naïve.

Some reasons:

[1] The Federal Government has all the leverage of power and authority. Sabah and Sarawak have very little to fight with.

[2] Sabah has given in too much for too long. Clawing back is an onerous task.

[3] The Federal Government controls all economic leverages.

SUN TZU STRATEGIST VS EMPTY VESSEL FIGHTER. Who is better? The answer is in the comparation of China’s Xi Jing Ping and USA’s Donold Trump. 

In Sabah’s past and present political and economic context, especially in the power structure of Sabah/Federal relationship, “an empty vessel” leader is often impotent and may produce adverse or unintended consequences for Sabah.

Loud rhetorics and grandstanding are entertaining but of little concrete value. Such behaviours have impoverished Sabah. Plenty of examples in the past 40 years.

A strategist, like the revered Sun Tzu, can produce the desired outcome for Sabah. He understands the dynamics of economics and politics and has the strategic mind to steer Sabah through their complexities to a brighter future.

The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: Forum@dailyexpress.com.my