Analyst: Sakaran name still carries a lot of weight
KOTA KINABALU: Barisan Nasional should not be underestimated in Semporna as family pedigree factors very highly on the political totem pole, said political analyst Rahezzal Shah.
“In Semporna, it is not just a battle of Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal against his cousins Datuk Seri Nasir Tun Sakaran and Datuk Razak Tun Sakaran.
“But Shafie is also battling against his uncle Tun Sakaran Dandai’s monumental family legacy in the east coast,” he said.
Sakaran was Sabah Umno’s first chief minister.
“People are saying that Semporna and the three state seats under it, Senallang, Bugaya and Sulabayan, are in the bag for Warisan but this may not necessarily come true.
“Sakaran is there and so are his sons, and the Sakaran name is still very strong and his family is highly regarded by the people of Semporna,” he said in an interview.
Rahezzal said Shafie, who is defending his Semporna federal seat for the sixth term and contesting a state seat – Senallang – for the first time in a straight fight against cousin Nasir, might lose one of the seats due to the Sakaran factor.
“Barisan still has a chance to cause an upset,” he said.
Shafie will also be taking on incumbent Bugaya assemblyman Datuk Ramlee Marhaban, a nonfamily member who is vying for the Semporna parliamentary seat for Umno.
Meanwhile, Nasir’s brother Ra zak is contesting the Bugaya state seat in a sixcornered tussle with his distant relative Manis Muka Mohd Darah, the Warisan candidate and daughter of Datuk Mohd Dara Langpad, a former Semporna MP during the Usno era in the 1970s.
Rahezzal said Shafie’s inability to work with smaller, native opposition parties such as fourparty local opposition coalition Gabungan Sabah comprising of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Sabah STAR, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (PHRS) and Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS), could be a disadvantage.
Warisan struck a seatsharing deal with Pakatan Harapan’s Sabah PKR and Sabah DAP.
“It will be a tough time if Warisan and Pakatan were to form a government without having cooperation with the native parties,” he said.
He acknowledged it was tough for the Opposition leaders to unite as they were all previously with Barisan and there is an element of mistrust and suspicion between the renegades.
“They are afraid that once they agree to work together, one side may jump ship to a different camp.
“Credit should be given to Barisan because these Opposition leaders were once groomed by Barisan,” added Rahezzal, alluding to Shafie who is former Umno vicepresident.
Meanwhile, PHRS is led by president Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin, who is a former Umno supreme council member, SAPP led by former Sabah chief minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee was formerly part of Barisan before it bolted out in 2008; and Sabah STAR led by Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan was once a member of several component parties in Barisan.