Journal of Journalism and Media Management

 

Background: Despite decades of development assistance and inclusion rhetoric, the Kadazan, Dusun, Murut and Rungus (KDMR) communities in Sabah remain disproportionately concentrated in low-income sectors and structurally underrepresented in formal enterprise, high value employment and policymaking. Entrenched employment deficits, persistent skill mismatches and fragmented program delivery continue to reinforce generational economic exclusion as of 2025.

 

Scope and Purpose: This analysis seeks to critically examine those deficits and proposes a legally anchored roadmap to reposition KDMR talent and enterprise within Sabah’s mid-tier industrial expansion. The study evaluates labour market segmentation, TVET relevance, indigenous entrepreneurship and governance gaps across KDMR majority districts, while benchmarking against comparable indigenous inclusion models in Sarawak, Johor and New Zealand.

 

Analysis: Findings reveal that current interventions are generic and under contextualised, producing low programme retention, limited credit absorption and policy fatigue. Scenario mapping shows that, absent corrective action, the demographic dividend will become a demographic liability by 2030. Conversely, strategic levers such as community-based workforce hubs, a KDMR Enterprise Acceleration Fund (KEAF), participatory budgeting and digital inclusion mandates can yield rapid gains if codified in law. Recommended legal instruments include an Industrial Skills Attachment Agreement gazetted under the Sabah Labour Ordinance, a constitutional Article 31A establishing KEAF oversight and a Native Court amendment to embed economic empowerment within customary jurisdiction.

 

Implications: Implementing these reforms over the next five years would convert policy ambition into enforceable duty, unlock indigenous capital flows and build a resilient KDMR workforce pipeline. Failure to act risks cementing permanent exclusion from Sabah’s high growth sectors and eroding social cohesion.