Long road ahead for Sabah Pakatan
People’s expectations remain high and there is the perception that both the federal and state governments are not doing enough to carry out the coalition’s reform agenda.
PARTI Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal is on track to have a strong grip in Sabah, a year after a general election that saw him oust his political rival Tan Sri Musa Aman as chief minister.
His victory came amid political drama that was played out in the Istana Negri and the court.
The Semporna warlord is now in firm control of the 64-member state legislative assembly as Sabah’s politicians buckled to the reality of a New Malaysia.
For Shafie, who quit Umno a month after his suspension as party vice-president in June 2016, it has been a roller coaster ride to power. He was once detained by the MACC and then rose up to become the chief minister in a surprising election that toppled the once strong Barisan Nasional state government under Musa.
A hung assembly emerged after the May 9 general election, as Barisan lost its majority, winning only 29 of the 60 state seats, with Warisan and its partners DAP and PKR taking 29 seats, and another opposition Parti Solidariti Tanah Air Ku (Sabah Star) picking up the remaining two.
Musa managed to be sworn in with Sabah Star’s support, but was kicked out hardly 36 hours later after Barisan assemblymen from Sabah Umno and component party Upko ditched the coalition to throw their support behind Warisan.
By May 12, Shafie was sworn in as Chief Minister by Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin while Musa dropped out from the political radar although he mounted a legal challenge against his removal.
With Warisan’s eight MPs adding the necessary numbers for Pakatan Harapan to form the Federal Government and given three Cabinet portfolios, there was hope among Sabahans for the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and other state rights – a campaign promise which Shafie, DAP and PKR rode on – to be finally fulfilled.
But a year later, not much has progressed, and Sabahans feel that there has been no change in attitude by the new government to help fulfil their aspirations.
A move in Parliament to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution in April to put Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to peninsular Malaysia in the federation failed to achieve the twothird’s majority support needed.
Sabah-based think-tank Society Empowerment and Economic Development of Sabah (SEEDS) observed that the people’s expectations remained high and there was the perception that both the federal and state governments were not doing enough to carry out Pakatan’s reform agenda.
“So far, the state government has yet to reveal its master plan to develop Sabah. No big policy decisions have been made either,” said SEEDS secretary-general Tony Paridi Bagang.
But the group of eminent Sabah academics noted that the federal and state governments should be lauded for taking the initial steps where despite criticisms levelled against Shafie and his team, the state had made several promising decisions in line with their reform pledges and the appointment of non-political professionals to lead GLCs was one fine example.
The ban of log exports is also seen as a positive step towards ending “timber politics” while addressing problems of timber monopolies and illegal logging, as well as the abolishment of communal titles to give more rights to native landowners over their lands.
“All these actions need to be accompanied by more concrete policy decisions and all the assurances and promises must be institutionalised,” the grouping said.
Shafie is also seen pushing for more investments in the manufacturing and industrial sector so that jobs and opportunities can be provided for the people, but there has been no positive outcome on environmental issues including the controversial Tanjung Aru Eco Development (TAED) and the Kaiduan dam project where promises that they will be scrapped remains on the drawing board.
Some observers said there is disillusionment among Sabahans with the Federal Government’s promise to restore the Constitutional guarantees for 40% of federal revenue to be returned to the state and increasing oil royalty to 20%, a promise they believe could help the state work autonomously and to improve the lives of the people.
However, observers claim that Shafie is alone in pushing for the Sabah agenda, with less enthusiastic voices to restore state rights coming from some federal Warisan and state leaders as well as state leaders from DAP and PKR.
It appears to the observers the agenda of state rights has disappeared from their minds. Shafie himself has yet to crack the whip to make sure the under-performing ministers, MPs and assemblymen do their part in fulfilling the Sabah agenda.
The entry of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia to Sabah has also raised eyebrows, with eight former Sabah Umno assemblymen closely linked to Musa joining the party.
Questions and distrust remain within Warisan and its local partners over their entry through the back door as some observers look at their presence as a move to dilute the campaign to fight for state rights.
For many Sabah political watchers, Warisan and Pakatan are sleeping on the same bed but their dreams are different.