SABAH politics grabbed the public’s attention when the state assembly was dissolved on Mohd Shafie Apdal’s request last month, following alleged defections in support of former chief minister Musa Aman. Party-hopping is notoriously common in East Malaysia, and Sabah is a “fixed deposit” for Barisan Nasional.

And, non-Sabahans wouldn’t take too much interest in the dynamics of the state’s politics if not for Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s endorsement of Shafie as prime minister two months back.

But coming back to the dissolution: Shafie’s gambit came as a surprise to most. Non-Sabahans cheered it after seeing Johor, Malacca, Perak and Kedah fall to Perikatan Nasional following February’s “Sheraton Move”, which gave rise to sentiments against the backdoor government.

The Kota Kinabalu High Court has affirmed the validity of the Sabah assembly’s dissolution, and the state polls are fixed for September 26. The following are five things Malaysians should know about the state’s politics before even trying to predict the election outcome.

‛Katak kings’

It saddens me as a Sabahan that party-hopping is a norm in the state. The majority of people might not be aware that an anti-hopping law was provided for in the state constitution until 1994, when the Federal Court ruled it invalid on the grounds that it went against elected representatives’ right to freedom of association.

The law was introduced in 1988 by Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) founder and then chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan. Ironically, Joseph and his brother, Jeffrey, have both been referred to as “katak kings” for their habit of switching allegiances.

Most of the state’s politicians have been guilty of this, including Parti Warisan Sabah president Shafie and vice-president Junz Wong, and state PKR chairman Christina Liew. The same goes for the assemblymen said to have thrown their support behind Musa.

Sabahans’ views

Many might think Sabahans don’t see the “big picture” as they repeatedly vote in political “frogs” – Jeffrey among them – and wonder, why the willingness to have controversial elected reps? This can be explained in part by the sense of regionalism evoked by the “Sabah for Sabahans” slogan and the desire to uphold the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

PBS won the 1985 state elections, ending nine years of Berjaya rule, for these reasons. In their campaign for the 2018 general election, Warisan and its allies championed the same, calling for more autonomy for Sabah.

East Malaysians often feel discriminated against or abandoned by the federal government due to peninsula folk’s poor understanding of Borneo culture. Also, the gap in household income and basic amenities between East and West Malaysia is stark. Despite the abundance of valuable resources, such as petroleum and natural gas, in Sabah and Sarawak, these states remain far behind in terms of development. As such, it’s no surprise that Sabahans focus more on domestic matters.

Local parties

Sabah-based parties, unlike those in the peninsula, tend to be multiracial. Warisan, PBS and the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) are the well-known ones, and there are also the Liberal Democratic Party, Parti Cinta Sabah, Sabah Progressive Party, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku Rakyat Sabah (Star) and Parti Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Sabah Bersatu Baru.

At present, the Sabah opposition comprises the PN-aligned Umno, PBS, Star, MCA and PAS, which will face off against the Warisan Plus alliance of Warisan, DAP, PKR and Upko. Other state-based parties have yet to declare support for either side.

Looking back on the 2018 elections, the Musa-led state BN took 29 state seats, as did Warisan and its partners. The two remaining seats were won by Star, which didn’t declare its allegiance to the ruling or opposition bloc before the vote. BN then managed to secure the party’s backing, leading to Musa being sworn in as chief minister. Shortly afterwards, however, six BN assemblymen crossed over to Warisan, giving Shafie the numbers to helm the state.

This goes to show that local parties have the potential to be the kingmaker in the coming state polls.

Nine-year spell

Sabah politics is said to be “cursed” by the nine-year spell, with only one of its governments having ruled for longer.

The United Sabah National Organisation (Usno) led the state for nine years till 1976, followed by Berjaya for the same period of time. PBS then took over, but lost to BN in 1994 after defections. The coalition ruled until the historic 2018 elections.

Federal-state relations

Plenty of arguments have been made that Putrajaya holds too much power, to the point that it can decide the survival of state governments, including that of Sabah. Every local party that has led the state has, in one way or another, received assistance from the federal government.

In 1975, the federal government openly helped Harris Mohd Salleh form Berjaya, which took on Mustapha Harun’s Usno. Berjaya won the following year’s state elections, and headed Sabah until 1985, when it lost to PBS. Then deputy prime minister Musa Hitam publicly declared that the federal government would recognise PBS leader Joseph as the people’s choice, and he was later sworn in as chief minister.

The fall of PBS after the 1994 vote can be attributed to reinforced anti-federal sentiments. The party decided to back Tengku Razaleigh Tengku Mohd Hamzah against Dr Mahathir’s BN ahead of that year’s polls, and the federal government swiftly announced that Umno would set up a state chapter and challenge PBS at the ballot box. At the same time, the federal administration imposed a freeze on several major infrastructure projects in Sabah, causing a downturn in the state economy. With such intervention, PBS, as predicted, was overthrown.

That the Sabah government has little choice but to maintain a warm relationship with Putrajaya, not just for financial support, but more crucially, the “mandate” to stay in power, can’t be clearer. – August 25, 2020.

* Esther Sinirisan Chong is a member of Agora Society. She was born and raised in the Land Below the Wind. Her research interest lies in education and government policies, and the history and heritage of East Malaysia.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.