Barisan Nasional (BN) Ranau chairman and UMNO Ranau chief Junaidi Sahat has warned against using elections as a platform to threaten voters with conditional development promises, implying projects will only proceed if a certain party wins.
“Democracy is not a transaction that forces people to choose in exchange for basic facilities. Development is a trust that must be delivered by whoever holds power, not a seasonal candy that appears only two or three months before elections,” he said.
Junaidi stressed that while BN has never opposed development — with much of Ranau’s current infrastructure being BN’s legacy — it does not mean blindly accepting mega project announcements without clear planning.
Citing the recently announced Pekan Baharu Paginatan project, he questioned its feasibility: “Budget not approved, land status unclear, no implementation timeline, yet announced as if bulldozers will start tomorrow.”
He said residents’ main concerns are whether the project will truly happen, where it will be located, and when they can benefit from it.
Meanwhile, pressing local issues remain unresolved: Damaged agricultural roads, dilapidated, unsafe bridges, neglected riverbanks causing floods, old community halls with structural cracks and defunct youth sports facilities
As a key tourism hub in Sabah, Ranau also faces chronic traffic congestion, lack of parking, and a water supply problem that was promised to be resolved in August but remains a top complaint.
“If last month’s promises cannot be kept, how can we believe promises for 10 or 20 years ahead?” he asked.
He concluded that development must be long-term, systematic, and for the benefit of the people — not short-term political bait.
