KIMANIS POLLS | Local matters, not national issues, are going to provide the key as to which way voters will swing in the Kimanis by-election.

Residents of the semi-rural parliamentary seat, located just 55km from the Sabah state capital Kota Kinabalu, told Malaysiakini that better infrastructure and job opportunities were their foremost priorities.

Irod Laurince, a 57-year-old farmer from the Sinuka village, said while there is a major road linking the town to other areas in Kimanis, there are very few tarred roads linking nearby villages.

"In Kimanis, we have more than 150 kampungs that are either not connected by tarred road to the main road or the roads are only partially covered by tar," he said...