MUHYIDDIN Yassin may not be contesting in Sabah but Perikatan Nasional is making “abah” the face of the coalition’s campaign to take over the state in the September 26 elections.

Posters and billboards of “abah”, Muhyiddin’s nickname, dot the 29 areas PN is contesting in Sabah, most of which are Muslim Bumiputera constituencies.  

Political analysts see it as an attempt to leverage on Muhyiddin’s high ratings nationwide, which stand as high as 69%.  

It is also an attempt to counter the iconic brand of Mohd Shafie Apdal, the caretaker chief minister, who is leading the campaign for Warisan Plus against PN.

Billboards of Muhyiddin have been spotted along major roads with the slogan “Vote Abah for Sabah”.

Abah is a Malay term of endearment for father, and social-media users gave Muhyiddin the moniker during the nationwide lockdown to bring down Covid-19 infections, when he would address the nation in live broadcasts.

Social-media users also dubbed senior minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah “Pak Long” (eldest uncle) and Pak Ngah (middle uncle) respectively.

Both Ismail Sabri and Noor Hisham held almost daily live telecasts where they updated Malaysians on the lockdown and the number of Covid-19 infections.    

“Abah” has now become a permanent feature of PN’s branding of Muhyiddin just like how “Tun” was once synonymous with Pakatan Harapan prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.  

PN’s detractors believe that it will backfire since it proves that the coalition and its allies in Sabah Barisan Nasional have no credible chief minister candidate.

“They are struggling to find their own chief minister, while we already have a strong CM candidate in Shafie Apdal,” said Kota Belud Warisan MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis.

“Compared to them (PN), we are the local party who can choose our own chief minister.”

Political scientist Dr Mazlan Ali, however, said Muhyiddin’s popularity cannot be discounted, especially in rural Muslim constituencies.

“Among Malays, Muhyiddin’s favourability is as high as 85%. Rural Sabahans also seem to miss Sabah BN,” said Mazlan, referring to PN’s ally in Sabah.  

“Muhyiddin is a popular figure even among rural Sabahans because of his leadership during the Covid-19 crisis and Perikatan is hoping his stature can counter Shafie,” said Mazlan who is monitoring the elections in Sabah.  

At the same time, Warisan’s reputation among rural folk has taken a hit due to cuts in aid and subsidies, which the former federal PH government instituted, said Mazlan.

“Because Warisan has been tied to Pakatan, people associate the budget cuts under (ex-prime minister) Dr Mahathir to them,” said Mazlan of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.  

Villagers in Sabah’s interior appear to confirm Mazlan’s findings concerning rural attitudes towards Warisan.

Mary Andau of Kg Telibong said Warisan cut monthly welfare aid for senior citizens like her.

“Before Warisan, I used to get RM300 per month but during Warisan’s time, it was cut. Shafie even told us not to depend too much on the government, which is very disappointing for people like me.”

Mary has not noticed the “abah” campaign but gave the thumbs up to Muhyiddin due to his management of the pandemic and the fact that he gave out RM1,600 to families like hers during the pandemic.

She also has no problems voting for PN or its allies Sabah BN or Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), even though they have not settled on a chief minister’s candidate.

“For me it was better under BN and I hope that Sabah can go back to that time.” – September 17, 2020.