Letter to the Editor
By Prof Datuk Dr Jayum Jawan
The upcoming Sabah polls is important. It could be a platform for Sabahans to decide whether local politics should continue be influenced by outsiders and to what extent. Various political parties from the Peninsular will participate in the State general elections such as UMNO, Bersatu, Amanah, PKR, DAP, and PAS. Local branches of these Peninsular-based parties are led by locals who answer to their Peninsular masters.
Prominent among these are UMNO, Bersatu, PKR, DAP, and PAS. The position of chief minister has been decided largely from Kuala Lumpur. It has been like that before. It is not likely that this will change after the 2025 polls as main contenders are mostly GRS coalition partners that are Peninsular-aligned or controlled.
Sabah caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Sri Panglima Hajiji Noor and Gagasan leader of the GRS coalition has come out to argue that the federal link is needed for Sabah to continue to progress. That’s an apologetic approach because Gagasan under Hajiji’s leadership is dependent on federal parties to sustain his position as chief minister.
The chief minister himself might be said to have emerged from Peninsular-supported politics. He was previously with UMNO and later in BERSATU before forming local party Gagasan that gathered momentum and pushed him as its leader.
Federalism is a system of government that defines the role and responsibility of the state or region to the federal or central government. The same set-up guarantees the federal commitment to constituents of the federation.
Therefore, it does not matter who governs or what policies are in place in any part of the region, be it Sabah or Sarawak. These provisions of duties are written in the 9th Schedule of the Federal Constitution of the Federation of Malayia.
Among local political parties, Warisan under Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Shafie Updal stood out as the strongest. In the 2022 elections, it won 23 seats out of 46 that it contested. UMNO under the leadership of Datuk Sri Panglima Bung Moktar Radin won 14 (out of 33) and Sabah Bersatu, 11 (out of 18).
STAR, led by Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, a former member of the GRS coalition that won six out of eight contested seats, has announced its departure from the coalition. This move could offer the Kadazandusun community an alternative to PBS within GRS when deciding which party to support in the upcoming elections.
The resilience of PBS in representing the Kadazandusun will be tested now that the party is no longer under the leadership of the influential Kitingan family—first its founder, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, and later, by relation, Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili.
The 2025 polls are not contests between unknowns. The political parties and personalities involved are well-established and have long held sway in local politics. While new parties may emerge during the election period, they are often led by familiar local figures who have been influential for years. Regardless of which party wins, it is unlikely that any will secure an absolute majority to single-handedly form the government.
With intense competition, it won’t be a surprise if no electoral pact fails to secure their own minimum majority. This would continue the pattern of political instability that have marked Sabah politics as constant attempts to oust each other would draw attention to politicking instead of pulling effort to develop Sabah.
Based on the latest data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia online, Sabah is one of three poorest regions in the country, followed by Kelantan and Sarawak. It is imperative that the people of Sabah give one party or coalition a solid mandate to help stabilise the State and allow for full attention to the politics of development.
According to the same data and one which was also cited by the Institute of Development Studies Sabah (IDS), Sabah recorded a high extreme poverty rate at 1.2 per cent while the national average was at 0.2 per cent.
Hopefully, these are the very issues that will be addressed by the competing factions and candidates. The people of Sabah, in turn, must cast their votes based on what they expect from their representatives—and how they want to be represented.
Prof Datuk Dr Jayum Jawan is currently a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and at the Institution of Malay Rulers Chair at UiTIM.
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
