Kota Kinabalu: The Federal Government’s stand against issuing grocery shop licences to foreigners must be fully enforced in Sabah, especially in areas like Kapayan and Moyog, said Warisan Kapayan Branch Chief Pritchard Gumbaris.
He said the presence of foreign-operated grocery shops is once again mushrooming in local villages, pushing aside Sabahan traders and threatening small kampung economies.
“I agree with Minister Nga Kor Ming’s statement, but this must not just apply to Peninsular Malaysia. In Sabah, the situation is worsening. Just walk through Kapayan or Moyog and you’ll see for yourself,” he said in a statement, Monday.
Pritchard, who is also political secretary to Warisan Deputy President Datuk Darell Leiking, blamed lack of enforcement by the current elected representatives for the resurgence of the issue.
“This is not a new problem. We had solved this before through strict enforcement during the Warisan Plus Government, in collaboration with the Penampang District Council (MDC) and local authorities.
“Trading licence applications were vetted thoroughly. Village chiefs had to endorse each one, and we personally interviewed applicants, checked photos and conducted on-site visits.
“We rejected applications linked to foreigners using local proxies or fake documents,” he said.
He claimed that under the leadership of Penampang MP Datuk Ewon Benedict and Kapayan Assemblywoman Datuk Jannie Lasimbang, the previous system collapsed.
“Enforcement has failed. The process we built was not maintained, and foreign traders have returned.
”Ewon and Jannie looked the other way. The very problem we fixed is now back, worse than before,” he said.
Pritchard said this was not about race or hatred, but about upholding the law and protecting local livelihoods.
“This is about Sabahan kampung shopkeepers who are being squeezed out. The law is already in place, the Sabah Trades Licensing Ordinance 1948 (Cap. 144) spells out restrictions on foreign traders. The issue is not the law, but political will,” Pritchard said.
He also called on State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Joachim Gunsalam to ensure local councils do not allow foreign operators to abuse loopholes.
Pritchard said Warisan would reinstate the previous enforcement model if given the mandate in Kapayan.
“We’ve also proposed an Ombudsman Committee to receive whistleblower reports on licence corruption. It’s time to stop the backdoor approvals and political favours.
“We did it before and with the people’s support, we will do it again,” he said.
