PENAMPANG: It was a black and white decision for one of this district’s oldest residents when casting their votes in Sabah’s first state election back in 1967.The only three political parties were Upko, Usno and Sabah Chinese Association (SCA) – in addition to 26 independent candidates – and campaigns were mainly held in their respective languages.
Eighty-one-year-old Anne Pondilin Disimond recalls the sentiment of the time was “preservation of race and culture” which is not much different from today’s standards.
“I was 26. I remember me and my husband had to walk from my parent’s house in Kampung Hubah to the Yue Min primary school voting centre which is now Tamu Donggongon. It was a 30-minute walk through paddy fields and criss-crossing sago palm trees. People who owned bicycles were considered well off those days,” she told Daily Express.
Advertisement
