Letter to the Editor
By Prof Datuk Dr Jayum Jawan
If the coming Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections are any indication, the trajectory of national politics has challenged the long-established pattern of communal voting, i.e. the race of the voters determines how they will vote. This traditional pattern has characterised Malaysian politics from the 1955 Malayan general election to the 2018 general election. It is also the patterns seen in Sabah, Sarawak, and the east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu, all the while.
However, despite the emergence of a new trend in the Sabah state election in 2025, Sabahans were still racial in their voting outlook, although they have shown the door to ‘outsider’ political parties such as Umno (United Malays National Organisation) and DAP (Democratic Action Party).
Interestingly, while Umno and DAP lost ground, PAS—which has never won a single seat—won one. Both Umno and DAP suffered devastating defeats compared to their past performances in Sabah. Although Umno and DAP state branches were led by local warlords, these parties were summarily rejected. The reason was that they are a Malayan party and thus considered ‘outsiders’.
But is the racial pattern of voting mellowing down? Perhaps, perhaps not. Political players still drum up and promote a ‘racial’ basis of voting in efforts to attract political support ahead of the general election expected late next year or early 2028.
In the coming Johor state election, Umno Johor leader and Menteri Besar, Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, was reported to reject any working relations with DAP. DAP secretary-general, Loke Siew Fook was quick to rebuke the former by saying that he sits weekly at the same table (Cabinet meeting) as Onn Hafiz’s boss, Dato Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is a deputy prime minister in the Madani government.
Shortly thereafter, Onn Hafiz was later reported to have clarified his earlier attack on DAP by saying that he was not referring to the Chinese population but the political party DAP. However, the damage has been done, and words uttered cannot be taken back. In his spontaneous outburst, Onn Hafiz could have forgotten that BN (Barisan Nasional), of which his party Umno is the leader of the political pact, has the MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) and MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress) that need to appeal to their Chinese and Indian populations, respectively.
In Peninsular Malaysia, three patterns of political behaviour are clearly noticeable. There are three centres of Malay political power centring on PH (Pakatan Harapan), BN, and PAS:
- PH leads four state governments—three by PKR in Selangor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan, while Penang is led by its partner, DAP.
- The second power bloc comprises four state governments led by PAS, whose key ally is Bersatu. However, all four states were won by PAS alone, and seats won by its ally, Bersatu, do not matter much.
- The third bloc is that there are three state governments led by Umno and BN. Johor and Melaka were won by BN-Umno alone, while in Pahang, Umno relied on its PH partner to attain the majority to claim the state government.
As Malaysia treads on a murky political landscape, how will this affect the coming polls in Sarawak, that has been speculated to be called in about three months? Will the new and challenging national and regional political scenarios invigorate the coming state elections in Sarawak? Maybe, maybe not.
Can Sarawak sustain its racial divide and appeal to Malay-Melanau voters to vote for PBB (Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu) as the only Malay-Melanau political outfit, and the Chinese to support SUPP (Sarawak United Peoples’ Party) or DAP, while the Dayaks remain segregated into those who support PBB, PRS (Parti Rakyat Sarawak), and PDP (Progressive Democratic Party), with the smallest numbers supporting SUPP?
As Sarawak heads towards the state election, there appear to be few significant issues affecting the Malay-Melanau electorate. Support for PBB among the community remains largely intact, with no major challenges emerging from opposition parties, including PKR. Likewise, there are currently no major issues that could significantly sway Malay-Melanau voters away from PBB.
As for the Chinese, SUPP is presently the choice, although DAP should not be ruled out altogether. Pundits may want to use the case of Sabah’s Chinese voters rejecting DAP because it is a Malayan-based political party. Will the same sentiment marginalise Sarawak DAP as Sabahans have done for Sabah DAP?
The Dayak community, particularly the Ibans, has long voiced concerns about marginalisation. The question is whether these sentiments will translate into voting choices at the ballot box. Similar issues have shaped Dayak political discourse for decades, yet the past 12 State elections have consistently returned many of the same leaders and parties that voters have criticised and accused of not doing enough to address the community’s concerns and aspirations.
How will the coming State polls be any different based on the same sentiment and using the same approach to appeal to the Dayak voters who are now more aware than their predecessors?
Prof Datuk Dr Jayum Jawan is currently a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and at the Institution of Malay Rulers Chair at UiTM, as well as an Adjunct Professor with the Institute of Borneo Studies in Unimas.
This is the personal opinion of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the views of DayakDaily. Letters to the Editor may be lightly edited for clarity.
— DayakDaily
