KOTA KINABALU – Unlike the 2018 general election, there has been a lukewarm response to the Sabah poll’s campaign trail. However, the situation looks brighter for the Warisan Plus alliance to retain control of the state due to the growing frustration of Sabahans towards federal control.
Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) charge to wrest Sabah in the ballot boxes through the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) alliance has taken a hit of over a possible power shift in Putrajaya. The ongoing bickering and overlapping of seats send confusing signals to the voters.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has lost the parliamentary majority as up to 15 Umno MPs have been said to back PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s claim on the federal government.
At the same time, Sabahans are evaluating their choices to vote parties aligned to BN as the state could still end up as an opposition state after the poll on September 26.
The GRS alliance have been banking on stronger federal-state ties to entice voters in the state, with PN leader and prime minister Muhyiddin repeatedly promising better federal assistance if the state falls into PN hands. In addition to that, the prime minister currently enjoys very high approval ratings and good perception of his image and leadership generally.
But the uncertainty at the federal level with Anwar's announcement could work towards influencing voters to vote Warisan since PN is shaky.
GRS is basically relying on the 26 Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) seats to give them an edge against Warisan.
Unfortunately for the federal alliance, it seems that Anwar’s announcement coupled with the fact that Warisan Plus has the backing of Upko founder Tan Sri Bernard Dompok as well as former chief justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum might swing the KDM seats to Warisan.
“Shafie has also been spending time personally calling voters from the KDM seats, asking them to vote for Warisan. I received a personal call from him,” said Kadazan Dusun voter from Tamparuli Alfred Simbun.
According to DAP’s Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh, Shafie’s personal touch has extended on his campaign trail. In an Instagram post, she shared her observation of the caretaker chief minister passing drinks meant for VIPs to those attending his ceramah.
The Vibes has observed that Shafie’s speeches were always well received by the crowd, who would uproariously respond to his words, agreeing and cheering him on wherever he went. It is obvious that he has not lost any of his magnetic charisma and charm.
The two-week campaign that ends at midnight tonight also saw growing resentment over party-hoppers, with many leaders calling for legislation to stop political horse-trading among Sabah elected reps.
“The election would not have happened if not for the actions of political frogs (the reference to party-hoppers).
“We would not have gone through the risk of being infected by the Covid-19 virus if they had been loyal to their voters,” said Simon Angkui when met at the Warisan-Plus final ceramah in Donggongon, Penampang tonight.
On July 30, the Warisan-led Sabah government led by Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal was forced to dissolve the state assembly after rival former chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman claimed to have the support of 32 state reps, saying Shafie’s administration had lost the majority.
This paved the way for a fresh poll in the state.
An overcrowded electorate and the GRS still in disarray, with the component parties clashing with each other in 15 state seats are also a positive sign for Warisan Plus.
A record of 447 hopefuls from 12 parties, including 56 independents will battle it out for a seat in 73 constituencies tomorrow.
However, political observers believe standalone parties such as Usno, Parti Cinta Sabah, Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah, Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri could cause an upset for Warisan Plus.
They are seen as possible kingmakers if Sabah experienced another hung assembly like in the 14th general election in 2018, an observer told The Vibes.
Some 1.08 million Sabahans are eligible to vote tomorrow but a lower electoral turnout is expected especially in Warisan’s strongholds located in Sabah’s east coast, where most of the infection have been detected.
Sabah health authorities have identified seven clusters since the number of Covid-19 patients spiked late last month.
Voters decision is also influenced by the bread and butter issues as Sabah has the highest number of hardcore poor, poor infrastructure, lack of jobs, illegal immigrants, displacement of communities and environmental concerns.
A voter said the problem has become more glaring now after Warisan had taken over, adding that it was not Warisan’s fault, but the regime before, that is Barisan Nasional.
“We are now more aware of the problems after Warisan took over. Sabah is not only backwards in many areas, but we also lacking in many things such as roads, poor internet service, dilapidated bridges and much more,” he said.
“Now, Warisan wants to get back what is owed by Putrajaya to Sabah. The state is rich in natural resources. Out of the billions of ringgit made from oil and gas from the state, only 5% is returned to the state.
“Billions of ringgit more are lost through federal collection of Sabah revenue, although the state entitlement was 40%, Putrajaya has given us back a fixed amount since 1974,” said 40-year-old Ebenezer Dasan, here.
Dasan is looking for a resounding majority for Warisan Plus tomorrow and hoped the parties that lose will now admit defeat to end the political turmoil in the state.
He said businesses and the economy have been affected by the political uncertainty by the leaders of the past BN regime.
Shafie, meanwhile, who has been elusive to the media as he prefers spending his campaign period speaking directly to voters have branded himself as a federal leader who spreads the message of unity and harmony and better Borneo-federal ties.
Tomorrow we will know if his strategy pays off in a big way. – The Vibes, September 25, 2020
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