By Peter Sibon and Ling Hui
KUCHING, July 30: The political instability in Sabah is caused by power crazy leaders, opined Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya (UM).
He said such obsession has caused anxiety among Sabahans and political instability in Sabah in recent years.
“Indeed the power obsession among the Sabah leaders is the root cause of political instability in Sabah today,” Awang Azman told Dayakdaily when contacted today.
Former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman announced yesterday that he commands a majority in the Sabah Legislative Assembly (DUN) and he would be seeking an audience with Sabah Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin for the latter to announce a change of government.
This afternoon, however, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal announced the dissolution of Sabah DUN and the move was supported by Juhar, who subsequently issued a formal announcement to dissolve Sabah DUN.
Juhar’s announcement has paved the way for Sabah to hold a snap state election as the present state government has just reached its half term.
On a related issue, Awang Azman who is a Sarawakian academic, expressed belief that Sabah’s snap election should not influence Sarawak leaders to dissolve Sarawak DUN.
“Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg should not follow the footsteps of a snap election in Sabah because Sarawak has a unique situation whereby it can call its election anytime in between now and mid of next year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Awang Azman said Sabah leaders should have been looking after the welfare of the people and not squabbling for power during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This view was shared by another political observer, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) associate professor Dr Lee Kuok Tiung who also spoke to Dayakdaily today.
“In the current situation we are facing amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of cases are increasing day by day, so it is not a great time to have a snap election,” said Dr Lee.
He held the view even if there is going to be an election, it will not guarantee a more stable and consistent government. — DayakDaily
