Newcomers, independents not overawed
KOTA KINABALU: The search is on for the right leader as Sabah voters scan their mobile phones, pore over media reports, analyse pamphlets and listen to campaigns to help them make their decision before casting their votes on Sept 26.
Already key players among the 447 candidates vying for 73 state seats are using their advantage over lesser-known aspirants, given their gre ater re s ource s, good ground support and simply being popular figures, especially if they belong to established parties.
Campaign videos, songs, testimonials and articles prepared well in advance are uploaded on social media, advertised in newspapers and broadcast on mainstream television channels to their advantage.
However, lesser-known candidates of newer, smaller parties and independents are not discouraged and are banking on demand for new faces.
They tout themselves as people who could bring about change, albeit with some guidance from experienced figures.
Parti Cinta Sabah, a fledgling party helmed by former foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, is one such entity.
While it is under no illusion that the election will be an easy task, it will bank on its identity as a fully local party to draw support from Sabahans.
The party’s ambitions are clear. It is contesting all 73 state seats.
Its candidate for Api-Api, Datuk Pang Yuk Ming, said the people are calling for change, particularly for Sabah to chart its own course and not be subservient to outside influences.
“PCS is indeed at a disadvantage given we are a young party, which is less than two-months-old under a new leadership.
“However, we believe there is a strong undercurrent (among the people of Sabah) for a truly local party, one that is not tainted by the influence of peninsula-based parties,” said Pang.
He was a two-term Merotal assemblyman under the Liberal Democratic Party in the Barisan Nasional administration, but was replaced in 2018.
Pang said while he agreed that the state should have a good relationship with the federal government, it should nevertheless be able to chart its own destiny.
Pang, a former assistant minister, believed that a lot of legwork had to be done to carry their message across to the people of the state.
The theme of Sabah liberating itself from outside influences is a focal point of campaigning by all political parties, with each claiming to be more independent than the other.