SABAH’s reputation as Barisan Nasional’s fixed vote-bank will be put to the test in tomorrow’s 14th general election when the ruling coalition faces its toughest battle in the state’s electoral history, say analysts.

In its latest survey released today, research body Merdeka Centre predicts that 14 out of the 25 seats in Sabah will be safely retained by BN. In the last general election, BN won 22 parliamentary seats in the state.

Other studies have predicted a similar outcome, with Parti Warisan Sabah under the leadership of former Umno man Shafie Apdal expected to win between 10 to 12 parliamentary seats.

“Warisan is on track to win a large number of parliamentary and state seats, and in fact, is expected to wrest control of several seats in the Kadazandusun, Murut and Rungus (KDMR) areas in the western coast and rural areas of Sabah,” said political studies lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Lee Kuok Tiung.

He also believed that Warisan is even capable of repeating the success of Parti Bersatu Sabah in 1985 to become the first non-BN party to form the state government in Sabah.

According to Merdeka Centre, Warisan which is working closely with PH, will only win comfortably in five seats, while another six will be closely-fought.

Six of those parliamentary seats are Kota Marudu, Sepanggar, Keningau, Libaran, Silam and Tawau. Four of those seats were visited by BN chairman Najib Razak during the campaigning period, which ends at midnight today.

Warisan has said it is confident of winning the state seats located along the eastern coast of Sabah, including notable BN strongholds such as Balung, Sekong, Pitas, Sugut, Merotai and Senallang, which is being contested by Shafie.

In the west coast and rural areas, Warisan is confident of winning the Penampang and Putatan parliamentary seats as well as wrest control of the Kapayan, Kiulu, Kadamaian, Tambunan, Liawan, Melalap and Kemabong state seats.

Warisan’s campaign has been focused on reclaiming Sabah from Umno. BN has continued to promise development and stability if voted back into power.

Warisan agreed to form a cooperation with PKR and DAP by not running in seats contested by the two Pakatan Harapan parties from peninsular Malaysia.

PKR is standing in six parliamentary seats and nine state seats, while DAP is standing in three parliamentary and seven state seats.

Warisan, which is contesting a total of 16 parliamentary seats and 45 state seats, has refused to work alongside Amanah, the splinter party from Islamist party PAS, and the two will be competing for the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat and Merotai state seat.

GE14 in Sabah will also see the presence of a local opposition coalition called Gabungan Sejahtera, which is expected to make inroads into KDMR areas. – May 8, 2018.