‘Fed up’ sentiments at play
THIS will be the first time that social worker Brian is getting the chance to cast his vote, but the 25-year-old is already election-weary.
Brian, who prefers to be identified only with a single name, was excited about the thought of casting his vote for the candidate of his choice when he registered as a voter three years ago in Penampang.
He was quite sure where he was going to put his vote, but along the way he has become a little disillusioned with the politics in his constituency.
“Recent events have made me think twice about my choice. It wouldn’t matter if the victorious candidate is with Barisan Nasional or the Opposition. That person is going to ‘jump ship’ after the election anyway,” laments Brian, who is watching the campaign closely.
Brian, who was referring to the almost 12 instances of party hopping by elected representatives since the 2013 elections, will be among some 90,000 young Sabahans who make up over one million voters set to make their political choice in the 14th General Election.
The well-entrenched state Barisan, led by Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, is going to be challenged by a mixed bag of opposition parties eyeing the 60 state and 25 parliamentary seats.
Rising to prominence over the last 18 months is Parti Warisan Sabah led by former Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, whose goal is to topple Barisan’s 24-year hold on Sabah.
Shafie, the Bajau warlord from east coast Semporna, has been strengthening his party’s position across the state through a spate of defections while cobbling a shaky alliance with the national-based opposition parties of DAP and PKR.
Using the “Sabah for Sabahans” war cry for state rights, however, Shafie has to compete with the pro state rights local alliance Gabungan Sabah or United Sabah Alliance (USA) comprising Sabah STAR led by Bingkor assemblyman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah led by Klias assemblyman Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) led by former chief minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee and Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah led by Mohd Arshad Abdul Maulap.
A third opposition force in the play is the alliance of two nativebased parties – Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri led by Datuk Henrynus
Amin and Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) led by Datuk Wilfred Bumburing.
It will be a tall order for the divided opposition to take on Musa, 67, and his partners in Sabah, which is dubbed a Barisan “fixed deposit”.
The astute Sabah Umno and Sabah Barisan chief has also been working the ground marshalling the full strength of the coalition to counter the threat from his political arch political rival Shafie, 60.
Sabah Umno remains intact and party leaders believe they will be able to repel Shafie’s threat in Semporna where all-out efforts are under way to give the Semporna MP a fight for his political life.
Barisan’s non-Muslim bumiputera parties – Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Upko and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) – which suffered major losses in 2013 to the then Pakatan Rakyat – have also rebranded themselves and changed strategies to win back seats.
Observers see a united force among the three parties under the
“misompuro” (let’s unite) call.
They say Barisan parties have a good chance of taking back some of the Kadazandusun Murut seats they lost, including Penampang where Upko president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok was defeated.
Upko acting president Datuk Seri Madius Tangau, PBS deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili and PBRS president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, 73, are likely to roll out young leaders such as Arthur Kurup, 36, Ceasar Mandela Malakun, 28, and Ewon Benedict, 35.
Many are also watching PBS president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Sabah’s longest-serving assemblyman for Tambunan since 1976 and MP for Keningau since 1985. He has been speaking of retirement, but is playing his cards close to his chest.
Dr Jeffrey is going after his brother’s seats in Tambunan and Keningau in Sabah’s interior, where all opposition parties, including DAP, have announced plans to jump into the fray.
While the mainly Chinesemajority urban state seats of Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, are set to be an uphill task for Barisan, many of its key players say they have a fighting chance to wrest them from the Opposition amid “fed up” sentiments over the instances of party hopping.
For Sabahans, bread-and-butter issues, basic amenities, job opportunities, native customary land titles, having a roof over their heads and the rising cost of living are foremost on their minds.
The more emotional issue of lost state rights promised in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 is also gaining traction among the electorate, who are watching not only the parties making promises but also their credibility in terms of delivering them.
Sabah Barisan and the Opposition are placing state rights in their manifestos as they pitch for support from the ordinary man on the street.
For retired civil servants Junaidi Mansur, 65, and Asgar Jamran, 66, Bajaus from Kota Belud, it is not the candidate they are looking at but the party, or rather, the same party
they have supported for decades.
But a 58-year-old Kadazandusun farmer in Kiulu in the foothills of Mount Kinabalu prefers not to discuss politics as it just encourages arguments among friends.
“What is the point of us bickering when the politicians are living comfortably?” asks the woman, who does not want to be identified.
Retired teacher Lunjin, 80, who runs a village grocery store, feels Barisan and the Opposition have an equal chance of winning in the constituency of Tuaran.
Lunjin, who has an old Barisan campaign poster of (now) PCS president Bumburing hung on a wall in his wooden shop, says he does not want to slight anyone, be they from the Opposition or the Government.
“So now whenever they come around, we say ‘yes’ to all of them because we don’t need to be hurting anyone’s feelings. But our minds are already made up about who has our votes,” says the Kadazandusun octogenarian.