The person was in fact Muhyiddin Yassin, who made his maiden visit as the prime minister to the district.
“I would have gone to catch a glimpse of him, but I was still working in Kota Kinabalu,” he told FMT.
“I hope this is not just another political gimmick to win votes because this is the election season after all. I hope this will signal actual development coming to our district.
“Leaders have come and gone before, and still our district, especially my village Kampung Panikuan, remains as it was before – poor and lagging behind other districts, particularly the urban ones.”
This stark reality in Kudat, which is a three hours’ drive from Kota Kinabalu, has pushed young people like Sanny, 34, to seek job opportunities elsewhere such as in the state capital.
Despite the pockets of development in the district, many have been forced to leave their homes in search of greener pastures.
The main population of the district is from the Rungus community.
Kudat is famed for its tourism attractions such as the Tip of Borneo and beautiful beaches. It also boasts a golf course.
It has several oil palm plantations as well as an airport that caters only to smaller aircraft.
“But development and progress have been slow and that is why people are leaving the villages in Kudat in search of opportunities in the cities,” said Sanny, who services machines for a living.
“I sincerely hope that with Muhyiddin’s visit to Kudat last week, he could see for himself the conditions of the villages here and the standard of living of the people.
“But I doubt that he made it into any of the villages, what more my village Kampung Panikuan.”
Kampung Panikuan, which has a population of 360 people, mostly Rungus, lies in the Matunggong subdistrict in Kudat.
It is located about 3km from the main road and is only accessible via a dirt road, which cuts through several oil palm plantations.
Sanny said most of the villagers still lived in the traditional Rungus longhouses and worked as rubber tappers.
Muhyiddin had said during his visit to Kudat that more allocations and assistance could be channelled to Sabahans if the state government was aligned with the Perikatan Nasional (PN)-led federal government.
The prime minister, who also visited neighbouring district Kota Marudu, said Sabahans should choose a government that is aligned with the federal government, which has proved itself in helping the people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Linah Garokkan echoed his brother-in-law Sanny’s sentiment, saying the people of Kudat had not seen much development in the area.
“Life has become harder, more so because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” she told FMT.
“My hope is that even if PN doesn’t win the state election, the federal government will still continue to assist the state, particularly our district.
“The hardships faced by the people are real and no government should make that as a political tool.”
Matunggong will see an eight-way battle where PBS’ Julita Mojungki will defend her seat against, among others, candidates from PKR, Barisan Nasional and Parti Cinta Sabah.
Click here for the latest on the Sabah polls