LEI Shiong mumbled as he removed one of the back tires of his father-in-law’s battered Myvi on a chilly Saturday morning in Kampung Meilot on the outskirts of Sunsuron in Tambunan.

He was taking the worn-out tire to Sunsuron, about 5km away, as there were no shops along the half dozen houses perched on the edge of the Kota Kinabalu-Ranau road. Tambunan, which is a Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) seat is about 70km or 90 minutes’ drive from the state capital of Kota Kinabalu.

The 30-year-old driver from Keningau, however, paused when asked about Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS).

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Over here, there’s only Star, Jeffrey Pairin Kitingan and Upko.”

When asked which party was more popular there, he pointed to the Perikatan Nasional banners featuring Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Jeffrey’s posters.

Tambunan (N39) will see a six-way fight between incumbent Jeffrey, Upko’s Nayan Yambu @ Laurentius, PBS’ Silverius Bruno, PCS’ Damian Marcus, Gagasan’s Nordin Jaini and independent Jimmy Palikat.

But all the way from Kota Kinabalu to Tambunan, the area only had Star, Perikatan, Warisan and Upko posters and banners. With the exception of the odd PCS banner, there was little sign of the “others”.

PCS and the others, said Lei Shiong, won’t make much of an impact in Tambunan.

“This area is mostly KDM and Jeffrey and Upko are more prominent here,” he said.

Newcomers PCS, nevertheless, surprised everyone when they fielded the most number (73) of candidates by contesting in all the seats in the 2020 Sabah state elections.

This is in contrast to the bigger and more established parties such as Warisan, which is contesting 53, USNO (47), LDP (46), Barisan Nasional (41), Perikatan (29) and PBS (22). Other relatively new parties, Gagasan and PPRS, are contesting 28 and 23 respectively.

Family influence

In a state where family ties, clan and wealth go a long way in politics, PCS may still be a “force” to reckon with if the elections turn out a hung Sabah assembly, said Dr Firdausi Suffian.

“PCS is led by a very influential figure in Sabah – Anifah Aman. He has a big family; his elder brother was a former CM and the family is influential. He may not be as vocal as Warisan’s Mohd Shafie Apdal, but his family’s influence cannot be denied.”

Firdausi, who is a senior lecturer with Universiti Teknologi Mara (Sabah), said PCS, and some of the smaller parties, fancy themselves as kingmakers as the opinions appear split in the Sabah state elections.

“There is a huge segment of Sabahans who think that Warisan has done enough in 26 months but there is still a lot of distrust towards Barisan Nasional,” said the political science lecturer.

“This is where a third choice has a chance of getting votes from dissatisfied people. This is also why we are seeing a resurgence in old parties such as USNO and LDP.”

The kingmaker theory is not that far-fetched, said Firdausi, when you consider what Star did in the 2018 elections.

“In GE14, Star only won one parliament and two state seats. But he (Jeffrey) joined up with BN and was appointed as deputy chief minister. Although it was short-lived, as Upko joined Warisan to help them form the state government, it shows how big a difference one or two seats can make in Sabah.”

Don’t gamble, says Bossku

Back in Kampung Sembulan in Kota Kinabalu, former prime minister Najib Razak said: “I’m worried when I see up to eight candidates in the Tanjung Aru contest.

“We must ensure that our vote is not broken by these PCS, LDP or other candidates. BN lost the last elections because our vote was split by Umno and PAS in three-cornered fights.

“Had it not been for that, BN would have won 22 more seats,” said Najib during his first ceramah on Friday.

After the ceramah, 65-year-old Mohamed Engah left with his granddaughter after collecting the packets of fried rice distributed at Najib’s ceramah.

“I don’t think he has anything to fear. Over on this side, PCS or LDP or whatever, has no influence.

“Anifah and PCS are only strong in the Kimanis area. Not here,” said the retired mechanic.

Another resident, Razali Mansor, also does not believe that the smaller parties could make an impact.

“The people in Kampung Sembulan know the candidates already. The LDP and PCS candidates are my friends too but they rarely come into this area.

“I don’t see how they’re going to win here.” – September 20, 2020.