KOTA KINABALU, July 8 — With no news yet from the federal government on the new movement control order (MCO) 3.0 SOPs requested by the state, the Sabah government appears to be allowing its citizens to move into recovery mode by tacit agreement.

In the absence of official SOPs, the state has allowed the removal of police roadblocks in and around the city and opened up travel within the greater Kota Kinabalu-Putatan-Penampang district.

The state has also maintained an "official silence” as businesses in the central business district and commercial areas in the suburbs bustle with activity that are supposed to be restricted during lockdown.

Malay Mail observed coffee shops and some restaurants coming to life this past week with people moving about more freely. Activities such as jogging, cycling and golfing that are open only for states the federal government has shifted into Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) could be seen openly carried out in the Sabah capital.

In the last one week, Sabah has been quietly defying the federal government, which elevated six states to Phase Two.

Conspicuously left out, the north Borneo state government announced it would ease back certain curbs and allow dine-in at restaurants, barbershops and hair salons and certain types of factories to operate.

But even without the SOPs, police, the health department and the local authorities have given their tacit agreement not to issue summonses to diners, provided they abide by "previous SOPs” like maintaining physical distance in public areas, registering their movements using the MySejahtera app, and for stores to close by 8pm.

"No one from the government has made an official stand since the stand-off. They haven’t addressed the confusion at all. That speaks volumes of the problem we have,” UiTM political analyst Tony Paridi Bagang told Malay Mail when contacted.

Sabah’s move to assert its autonomous authority began with the announcement from the Chief Minister’s Office on June 28, giving Sabahans a reason to rejoice after a month of lockdown, and injecting a popularity boost for the usually low-profile Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

When the state was in the throes of chaos in the few hours where eateries were literally pulling back their tables and chairs on June 29, Hajiji shared infographics of Phase One of Sabah’s recovery plan, detailing the permitted socio-economic activities on his Instagram Stories.

Since then, there has been no official statement from any authority, leaving Sabahans confused and jittery.

When federal Defence Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob said states should follow the national SOPs and not be making their rules, Hajiji was put in a tight spot. But it would appear the chief minister is willing to stand his ground.

"Can’t U-turn now. Political suicide,” one political aide close to Hajiji told Malay Mail.

The blunder might have come from deviating from the approval process. The National Security Council (NSC) typically meets at 3pm daily, but Sabah had not got its "approval” to go ahead with relaxing some of the stringent restrictions for states under Phase One of the NRP.

In the past when Sabah wanted to call its own shots — to allow dine-in, to have different operational hours, and call for its own travel requirements — Putrajaya more often than not, agreed to its recommendations.

This time was different despite having the entire state Covid-19 disaster management team endorse the Sabah government’s recommendations. The Sabah agency comprises not just state representatives but also officials from the NSC and other federal bodies.

Road and foot traffic builds up in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah July 7, 2021 as shops, including eateries, open up for business with the state government’s tacit approval. — Picture by Julia Chan

While Sabah is known for being politically divided, this time around leaders from both sides of the divide have chosen to bridge their differences and stand with Hajiji.

Opposition politicians have urged the chief minister to stand firm in his decision for Sabah’s sake. It is a rare occurrence but not surprising given the circumstances.

Sabah has always wanted to call its own shots, and a rejection of this seemingly simple request was not taken well. Tension rose when days later, Ismail announced the five states deemed "qualified” to enter Phase Two of the national plan, omitting mention of Sabah.

Senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs Oh Ei Sun said this issue may be a litmus test for Hajiji who has helmed the state for 10 months now and steered Sabah through the worst Covid-19 wave it has seen so far.

Although Hajiji is quietly standing his ground, there are still critics who say the Bersatu politician should have been bolder in making his stance clear in the earlier days when the federal government announced the new transition plan.

Hajiji has since fired some salvos of his own. On Wednesday, he said the federal government had been "slow” in providing the state with enough vaccines — something that may have pushed Sabah into fulfilling all three key indicators that will allow it into Phase Two of the NRP.

Even then, it would still need some negotiating as dining-in activities are officially not permitted.

"The approval process may not be his blunder, but at the end of the day, the buck stops with the chief minister. Hajiji is known as the Mr Nice Guy, as he has tried to steer away from controversy, but it has now become a political problem.

"It’s been a week now, he has yet to address the issue. I think this could be a problem because people might perceive this as weak leadership,” said Bagang.

"Perhaps some political leverage would come in handy now, but it seems the prime minister — Hajiji’s Bersatu president — is dealing with his own medical emergencies so Ismail Sabri — an Umno minister, has the final say for now,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sabahans are still waiting for the SOPs to be released. The state secretary has been tasked with releasing this, but this may take a while given that official SOPs need to be gazetted by the NSC.

"If Hajiji can pull this off now, his political standing would be enhanced,” said Oh.