Top 5 at 5: Questions Arise About "Sabah for Sabahans"
Ariff Adi Putera, Research Officer, Research Associate, Institute for Development Studies (Sabah)
19-May-25 17:00

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Sabah UMNO Chief Bung Moktar Radin recently called out Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR)’s president Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan about whether he is truly dedicated to his “Sabah for Sabahans” rally cry. This comes after Kitingan defended his slogan against other politicians who might consider it divisive. Ariff Adi Putera, a research associate at the Institute for Development Studies in Sabah talks to us about what the slogan truly means and calls for, alongside Sabah’s autonomy demands.
Other stories we covered:
• Rafizi and Izzah face off for PKR: PKR’s deputy president race has narrowed to a showdown between incumbent Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar. Rafizi’s recent remarks — including urging delegates to vote for Izzah while also criticising her candidacy — have drawn mixed reactions, with some seeing him as divisive and others as principled. As tensions build ahead of voting day, we revisit an interview on the Morning Run, where they spoke to Syaza Shukri, associate professor of political science at IIUM about what Rafizi's response indicates about internal party dynamics.
• Badminton highs and sepak takraw lows: Malaysian shuttlers Aaron Chiah and Soh Wooi Yik, along with Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, claimed gold at the 2025 Thailand Open, with Pearly and Thinaah making history as the first Malaysian women’s doubles team to win the title. Meanwhile, the national sepak takraw team faced disappointment, losing to Thailand in the 2025 Asia Cup Sepak Takraw Championship team regu event — extending a 34-year drought in team victories. We speak with sports journalists Haresh Deol from Twentytwo-13 and Sandru Narayanan from Scoop to unpack the significance of these results.
• Dumping pets at a shelter is counterproductive: Footage from an SPCA security camera recently went viral, showing a couple trespassing and climbing over shelter gates to leave two dogs in an attempt to “rescue” them. The SPCA condemned the couple’s actions, emphasizing that dumping animals at shelters without proper coordination does more harm than good. We speak with Kelvin Cheah, general manager of SPCA Selangor, to learn what responsible actions the public should take instead.
• "Tupai king" the new top durian?: The new darling for durian lovers, Tupai King, is selling for up to RM250 per kilo in Hong Kong and is reportedly outpricing Musang King in the local market. We uncover the origins of this rare durian variety and explore the reasons behind its rising hype with Professor Khoo Gaik Cheng, deputy dean of research and sustainability at Sunway University.
Image Credit: Bung Moktar Radin Official X @MyKinabatangan
Produced by: Sudais Ferhard, Alia Zefri, Sneha Harikannan
Presented by: Sharaad Kuttan
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Categories: technology, economy, managing, politics, government, international, environment, corruption, Law/Activism, education, controversies, culture, History/Heritage, Family/Parenting, food
Tags: umno sabah, sabah for sabahans, parti solidariti tanah airku, aaron chiah, m thinaah, 2025 thailand open, pet dumping, tupai king, bung moktar, jeffrey kitingan, star, rafizi ramli, nurul izzah, pkr, deputy president, soh wooi yik, Pearly Tan, badminton, sepak takraw, spca, animal shelters, durian, musang king, black thorn,