Sabah parties gear up for polls

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's political parties are gearing up for the 17th state election amid a flurry of possible electoral pacts, but firm deals have yet to materialise.
Major players, including the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and its former ally-turned-rival Barisan Nasional, are preparing to go it alone if ongoing negotiations with potential partners fail.
Observers say GRS, led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, and Sabah Barisan, led by Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, are ready to go it alone if they fail to strike a deal with other political blocs.
Parti Warisan, under Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, is staying out of any alliance talks, positioning itself as the alternative to both coalitions with its multiracial party platform.
The coming election is expected to be shaped by a growing 'Sabah for Sabahans' sentiment, with voters increasingly drawn to local-based parties championing state rights and autonomy.
This political mood has fuelled support for both Warisan and GRS in recent years while putting pressure on national coalitions to localise their campaign narrative.
Hajiji, who is seen as preferring to continue cooperation with Sabah Pakatan Harapan (Pakatan), stated yesterday that GRS was ready to face the election, with its machinery fully trained across all constituencies.
However, any pact will still require the endorsement of GRS' eight-party coalition.
He added that no seat talks had taken place and that any cooperation must go through the GRS Supreme Council.
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So far, Sabah STAR, led by Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan; SAPP under former chief minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee; and Usno, led by former Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, have been adamant that GRS should contest all 73 seats on its own.
These parties have pushed back against external collaborations for various reasons – Sabah STAR wants internal seat distribution settled first, SAPP rejects the involvement of national parties, and Usno has demanded greater respect and fair seat allocation, warning it may walk away from the coalition if sidelined.
Given that at least eight assemblymen, including four ministers from Hajiji's Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS), are embroiled in a bribery scandal involving mining licence approvals, the ruling coalition must carefully navigate any potential pact with Pakatan to reach a mutually agreeable seat-sharing formula.
Any potential deal between GRS and Pakatan is expected to hinge on the local bloc being allowed to contest at least 53 to 55 of the 73 seats at stake.
GRS, Sabah Pakatan and Sabah Barisan have not publicly disclosed the seats they are targeting.
Some observers believe that even if an agreement is reached, some seats could still be left open to free-for-all contests.
Meanwhile, Sabah Pakatan is also exploring a separate seat-sharing formula with Sabah Barisan to remain aligned with the federal-level unity government.
At the national level, leaders from both coalitions have expressed support for working together in Sabah.
Pakatan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, speaking at the PKR congress in Johor Baru on May 24, said, 'I have discussed the matter with Barisan Nasional and Umno chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
'We will work together on the condition that Pakatan Harapan is recognised as a partner to fight for the people of Sabah.'
Anwar has appointed Sabah Pakatan chairman cum Upko president Datuk Ewon Benedick to lead coordination efforts for the state election.
By placing a Sabahan face at the forefront, Pakatan appears to be repackaging itself to appeal to local sentiments, positioning the coalition as part of Sabah rather than just a federal extension.
However, political observers observe that while national leaders are advocating for unity, Sabah leaders seem to be following a different path.
GRS comprises eight local parties: PGRS (Gagasan Rakyat), Sabah STAR, SAPP, Usno, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS), Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), and Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (PHRS).
Barisan comprises peninsula-based parties such as Umno, MCA and MIC, along with its Sabah component, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).
Pakatan consists of PKR, DAP, Amanah and Upko.
The 17th Sabah state election must be held following the dissolution of the state assembly, which is due by 11 Nov, 2025.
Speculation is rife that Hajiji may dissolve the assembly as early as the third week of July, after the official celebration of the Yang di-Pertua Negri's birthday on June 21.

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2 hours ago

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It's all about the seats

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So it's either GRS going solo or the present arrangement of GRS+PH to continue. CM and GRS chairman Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Hj Noor recently indicated that he prefers the present arrangement to continue. This was echoed by GRS Secretary-General Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun who said that everything will be finalised at the GRS Supreme Council meeting expected end of this month or early July. So all signs point to a GRS+PH coalition. But for the purpose of this article and for argument sake, let's first assume that GRS goes solo for understandable reasons. If GRS goes solo, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin, Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee and Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan will be the happiest persons because this is what they wanted all along. Pandikar leads Usno, Yong SAPP and Jeffrey Star. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why the trio wants GRS to go solo. For the record, both Usno and SAPP failed to win a single seat in the 2020 State election. Star won half a dozen but it is no secret that Dr Jeffery wants his party to be given as many seats as possible. He reasoned that every party has a right to request for seats and whether they get what they want is another matter. PBS, with whom Star was supposed to have merged, has remained silent on the number of seats it is aiming. This is good strategy. It is better to silently discuss at closed-door meetings then shouting through the Press. If GRS goes solo, then the eight component parties will have 73 seats to divide among themselves. PGRS, the leader of the pact or being the 'Tai Koh' as it is the CM's party, is expected to be given the lion's share. Even parties (including LDP, PCS and PHRS) which did not win a single seat in 2020 will then have a better chance to contest. I don't expect them to be given a lot of seats though. Maybe a few lah. I understand that the formula is that it will be status quo. Meaning, for example, if a seat is currently represented by PGRS, then it goes back to PGRS. I suppose that includes assemblymen from Warisan and Umno who had crossed over to PGRS. The PGRS assemblymen won their seats on PN/Bersatu ticket in 2022 but they are now in PGRS. They 'jumped' before the law was amended. So they are safe. One of Umno's conditions if it's a PH-BN-GRS is that it must contest the seats that it won in 2020 (13 I think). Don't know yet if they would ask for more. If you were GRS, would you agree? What more if it were a GRS-PH-BN coalition, even within GRS itself also all is not well as indicated by Pandikar's threat to quit the coalition recently. As Dr Jeffrey said, naturally each part wants to get as many seats as possible. That being aside, it is only to be expected that each party will respect its coalition partner. Even if you are aiming for the same seat, at least respect your coalition partner lah. I may be wrong and stand to be corrected. Recently a very senior PBS leader openly stated that his party is aiming for the Kukusan seat in Tawau. May be his reason is that Kukusan was won by Warisan and therefore it's everybody's cake now. Fair enough. But he seems to forget that the Kukusan YB has since crossed over to Tan Sri Liew Yun Fah's party PHRS and is now that party's sole elected Assemblyman. How do you think PHRS will feel? You don't do that to your coalition partner. There are 72 other seats for you to grab apart from Kukusan. Leave Rina Jainal alone lah. Out of the 8 GRS component parties, only 3 – PGRS (formerly Bersatu), PBS and Star – won seats in the 2020 State election. So why admit the 5 who didn't wina a seat? This is Hajiji's political style. He wants to bring as many local parties as possible under GRS's wing. Hajiji has seen how powerful local parties can be when they are united, as proven by Sarawak. Nobody can touch Sarawak. It is perhaps this style of Hajiji which made certain people unhappy to the extent that they tried to topple him in January 2023. But they underestimated Hajiji and failed miserably. Today, they try to team up with GRS indirectly. First, they got the PM and Unity Government to announce that PH and BN to face the Sabah election together, expecting GRS to follow suit. But Hajiji is not stupid. He is not someone to be pushed around. He has been a YB since 1990. He knows what he is doing. OK now let's assume that the GRS+PH arrangement will go on. The present arrangement was made when Datuk Seri Panglima Christina Liew was PH Chairman for Sabah early 2023. But things have changed. Christina is no longer the Chairman. The new Chairman is Upko Chairman Datuk Ewon Benedict. It is an open secret that he and Sabah DAP leader Ginger Phoong 'clique' like abang adik since Warisan time when they were described as the two young turks. So we don't know what is in these two young men's mind. Soon after his election as Sabah DAP chairman, Ginger already issued a statement saying that his party would reconsider its alignment with the State Government in the light of the so-called minerals 'scandal'. I understand that DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke has no problem with DAP working with GRS. All this talk about State autonomy, to me, is only egoistic. On Upko's part, it shouldn't forget that the party won only one seat (Ewon's own) out of the one dozen it contested. So when they make demands I hope they are realistic. Hajiji is keen on the GRS-PH coalition partly to give face to PM Anwar as PKR is his party. But if Sabah PH makes unrealistic demands, what do you expect oh? Hajiji bukan bodoh bah. If Sabah PH's demands are too much, then the only way is masing masing lah. GRS go solo lah. Pandikar, Yong and Jeffery will be happy. Sabah PKR chairman Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said certain areas may see friendly contests. But if there are too many friendly contests, then it defeats the purpose of a coalition. May as well go all out. The idea of 'Friendly Contests' first surfaced when Usno and Upko participated in the 1967 state election. And again during Berjaya in 1982. Both Berjaya and Usno were components of BN in 1980s. That was just before Usno was kicked out of BN for opposing the Labuan handover. Berjaya planted Independents in 4 MP areas where Usno represented BN. All 4 Berjaya-sponsored Independents won. New PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar mentioned that the party hoped to contest 13 seats in Sabah, presumably under coalition with GRS. Sabah DAP has said it intended to contest 10 including the 6 it won in 2020. That's already 23 total. PH members Upko and Amanah have not mentioned how may seats they intend to contest. So the total is expected to be more than 35 if not more. The magic number to form the Sabah Government is 37 to make a simple majority. GRS is not expected to contest less than 50 to be on the safe side. PGRS Vice Chairman Datuk Masiung Banah recently hinted that GRS might contest 52 seats, leaving PH with 21. From where he got the figures or whether he spoke for the party, I don't know. Will PH accept 21? Just the expectations of PKR and DAP is already 23. Where does that leave Upko? Never mind Amanah. This seat thing can be a headache and I don't want to be in Hajiji's shoes right now. He can't offend both GRS and PH. But trust me, Hajiji is an old hand in politics and more than capable in handling this. Each party, be it from GRS or PH, needs to give and take. If nobody wants to give in, free for all lah? Lastly, politics is dynamic. Any pre-election pact does not necessarily materialize after the election. This is politics. Enemies can become friends and vice-versa. The best example is prior to the 2022 MP election, BN or Umno's stand was 'No DAP, No Anwar'. But look what happened after the election? Umno president Ahmad Zahid supported Anwar to be PM just to frustrate Muhyiddin Yassin and PAS. And DAP is a PH component. It's Zahid swallowing his pride. As the Malay proverb says, 'Jangan ludah ke langit kerana dia akan jatuh ke muka awak'. Can history repeat itself in Sabah end of this year? Anything is possible. Politics is a number game. We will only know after the election. For example, Warisan and KDM with only a few seats each (no offence meant) can turn out to be the kingmakers after the election. Who they team up with, be it BN or PH or even GRS is another matter. Politics is the art of the possible. Sabah Umno chairman himself admitted that any coalition can only be finalised after the election, although it is unlikely that GRS would want to work with him. A good example is what happened in Sabah after the 2018 election. BN, short of two seats, managed to form the government with Star's two seats. Then suddenly Upko with its few assemblymen changed allegiance and supported Warisan. The rest is history. It is believed that Sabahans 'punished' Upko in 2020 when only one of its 12 candidates won. The president then was Wilfred Madius Tangau who also lost. After the 2020 election, each of the Warisan+ parties went their own way. Upko joined Anwar's PH and it turned out to be a wise decision. From just one MP (Tangau) previously, Upko won two in 2022, the other being Ewon Benedict who replaced Tangau as Upko president. Upko was given a new lease of life. Someone said it rose from the dead. It is believed that DAP's Ginger influenced new Upko president Ewon to join PH. The gamble paid off. One of the things that voters will be looking at in the forthcoming election will be the GRS+ government's performance past few years. Sabah has just been named 'Malaysia's Most Outstanding State for 2024' at the International Business Review (IBR) Asean Awards 2025. Need I say more? When PM Anwar was in town recently, he personally launched a multi-billion ringgit project. Need I say more? The Chinese and Koreans have poured in billions over the last few years in Sabah by way of investments. Need I say more? Of course there will be issues. If the Opposition don't bring up any issue, how are they going to win a single seat? Whatever the Government does will be wrong to the Opposition. That's why they are called Opposition. They can only see what the Government has not done. Not what the government has done. They cannot afford to give credit to the government. Sabah Maju Jaya. The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]

Daily Express

2 hours ago

• Daily Express

Let's be proud Malaysians and proud Sabahans, too

Published on: Sunday, June 22, 2025 Published on: Sun, Jun 22, 2025 By: Datuk John Lo Text Size: IT is natural. It is proper. When in a foreign country, all Malaysians must very proudly profess ourselves as Malaysian. Within Malaysia, we can call ourselves Penangites, Selangorians, Johoreans, Kehadans, Sarawakians and Sabahans with the same degree of pride. Leaders from each respective state are expected to look after the interest of their states and people. Nothing wrong for Hajiji to promote 'Rumah Kita, Kita Jaga', 'Sabah for Sabahans' or 'Sabahans First'. Hajiji's 'Rumah Kita, Kita Jaga' Makes Very Good Sense. Hajiji has mentioned 'Rumah Kita, Kita Jaga' many times, the latest was at the USNO's annual conference in Kota Belud. Much to my liking, he also said that Sabah party must be the anchor/dominant players in government after the coming election. Be on extreme alert if any leader who discourages Sabahans to be less Sabahans. Or induce us to relinquish our rights to govern Sabah. Or that non-Sabahans can manage Sabah better. Their intention is dubious and blatantly dishonest. It is to dope us. I am not in politic. I see 'Rumah Kita, Kita Jaga' in the prism of simple logic and practical economics. Advertisement If Sabahans Do not Jaga Rumah Kita, Who Can We Trust to Jaga? We better be cautious of anyone trying to convince us not to Jaga Kita Rumah. It is highly irresponsible to farm out Sabah which is our only rumah, to be 'jaga' by non-Sabahans for any reason. If we are unwilling or incapable of 'Jaga rumah kita' we deserve to be poor. Like it has been for the last 40 years. After more than 60 years of independence, Sabahans still cannot unite to juga rumah? Still cannot unite to build Sabah's economy? Do Sabahans have some intelligence handicaps to jaga rumah kita? Autonomy for Branch Manager is a Fairytale. The president of a Sabah party is like the chairman of a company. The head of a Malayan party in Sabah is like a branch manager. Nothing personal. No disrespect is meant. Have never heard that a branch manager can be truly autonomous or independent in the corporate world. Neither in politics. A branch manager is a branch manager. He is not the boss. His boss is in KL. The boss can remove the branch manager. The boss makes all the final important decisions. The branch manager can recommend only. In a crunch, the boss always wins. Either the Branch manager obeys or gets the sack. It is the same system of disciple in politics as in the corporate world. For survival, the branch manager must be subservient, deferential to the boss in KL even at the expense of Sabah. Let us be serious: Do Sabahans want a Chairman of a Sabah party or a Branch Manager of a Malayan party as Our CM? Your answers to the following pointers will tell you how you should choose; Pointers 1: A Chairman of a Sabah party has same status as President of any Malayan party in matters affecting the nation and state. They will meet on equal footing, sit at the same table. Whereas, the Branch Manager of a Malayan party will have no local standi to attend the same meeting. Pointer 2: On critical important issues that affect Sabah's interest, the Chairman of a Sabah party can negotiate, stand firm or demand. Unlikely the Branch Manager can or dare to make a stand in the interest of Sabah. If he dares to go against his boss in KL, he will find himself without a job soon. Pointer 3: What would a Branch Manager of a Malayan party do if he has received an instruction from his boss that will affect Sabah's interest adversely? More than likely, he would say 'yes, boss.' The chairman of a Sabah party can say NO! Pointer 4: Never short of predatory Malayan businessmen who are often backed by some Malayan powerful political war lords coming to Sabah. To them, streets in Sabah are paved with gold. Remember the attempt to black mail and overthrow of Hajiji government? This is not an isolated case. Many 'funny' proposals have been coming in. Hajiji, as CM, has rejected many. Hajiji can say 'The Buck Stops Here!' Can a Branch Manager of a Malayan party afford to say same to his boss and political war lords from KL? Pointer 5. Before Hajiji became CM, the special grant given to Sabah was RM26.7m a year from 1974 to 2018. Hajiji became CM in 2020. He got it up to RM125.6m in 2022. Up again to RM129m in 2023. Up again to RM300m in 2024. Up again to RM600m in 2025 [budget announcement]. A whopping of 2247% increase since Hajiji took office in late 2020. Do you think a Branch Manager of a Malayan party as Sabah's CM can get these increases? If can, why didn't it happen before? Hajiji must have demanded very strongly as Chairman of GRS to get such huge increases every year. A Branch Manager will not open his mouth to demand for fear of losing his job. Pointer 6. Hajiji has said that he would not comprise on Sabah's constitutional rights of 40% share of revenue. Would a branch manager of a Malayan party make a similar stance? Has any branch manager made a similar stance? Pointer 7. This is the absolute reality for all Sabahans to grasp and appreciate. To Malayan leaders, Sabah is at the fringe of national politics. Sabah leaders can be 'kautim' in the past. Their political 'do or die' battle ground is Malaya. For Sabah to be taken seriously, we must 'Rumah Kita, Kita Jaga Baik Baik'. We need a strong CM from a Sabah party with a convincing majority mandate from the 2025 election, to do it. A Branch manager cannot do the job. How about Sabah party JV with a Malayan party? In view of current political reality, JV is ok on conditions that [1] CM and Minister of Finance must be from the Sabah party. [2] Majority of Cabinet is from Sabah party. No longer must Sabah be ruled by non-Sabah party. For our own sake and our future generations, Sabah must never become a vassal state of anyone. Sabahans must be the master of Rumah Kita. Sabah/Federal Relationship is very complex. Hajiji has Improved Sabah's Position Considerably. Examples: Hajiji has got back rights in oil/gas, power generation, board representation in Petronas and IRB [Income Revenue Board], huge increase in annual special grant. What sort of CM does Sabah need to continue the present trajectory? In all probability, a branch manager of a Malayan party will be unable to look after Sabah's interest as good as the Chairman of a Sabah party can. He cannot serve 2 masters, i.e. Sabah and his Malayan party. Given the present and future complexities of Sabah/Federal relationship, Sabah will need a 'Sun Tze' type of CM supported by a strong majority mandate in DUN after the 2025 election. My favourite philosophy of 'Sun Tze' is 'Victory without fighting'. Calm, no shouting matches, no finger pointing, no passing the buck, no threats. Just get the job done! When it is done, no blowing of the trumpets. This is political leadership maturity. This is statesmanship. The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]

The Star

4 hours ago

• The Star

Warisan urges explanation of ‘hidden' tariff hikes in Sabah

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