By Mohd Ustar Abdul Ghani
KOTA KINABALU: In a land where the wind constantly blows above you, any slight veer will inflict upon those, who presumed such vicissitudes as a prophecy of change, a sense of disquietude.
Changes are imminent or to a certain extent capricious Either way, they stretch arguments beyond the boundaries of logic and the common traditional credence.
Arguments often invite a prognosis of many upshots. The ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ never fail to concoct a theme of narratives that complement our imagination.
While we debate the probabilities and the inconceivable, we are frequently overwhelmed by sentiments, expectations and the partisanship of emotional enthusiasm.
Within the realm of the recently concluded election, the diegesis is apparently clear.
The victorious and the defeated accepted the course of democracy though the agony of defeat to some is hard to digest.
The wind of change has once again descended upon the land below the wind and the outcome has become academic with some confounding firsts.
From the onset, the election was presaged to divulge some very interesting pointers. The 596 candidates from 24 political parties vying in 73 constituencies was itself history.
A congested 14 cornered battle in Tulid and a 10 to 13 cornered fight in 23 constituencies are signs of Sabah’s increasingly fragile political landscape.
The constituency of Karambunai became the cradle of PAS’s first victory in Sabah. This triumph other than being a personal attainment for PAS’s candidate Dr. Aliakbar Gulasan, poses a more worrying proposition of PAS’s imminent intrusion and increasing influence in Sabah.
Unlike many politicians who came out of the woodwork only on election day, Dr. Aliakbar was committed to serving his constituents efficiently and tirelessly which deserves him the victory.
In the East Coast constituency of Kunak another remarkable first was inscribed in this election. Dr. Anil Jeet Singh of Barisan National emerged victorious in a predominantly Muslim bumiputera area.
Like Dr. Aliakbar, he is also involved in community services for his constituents. He now enters Sabah’s political history as the first Indian to ever contest and win in the Sabah election.
This election also witnessed the probable demise of national parties in Sabah.
After more than 20 years of political dominance, UMNO is now slowly crumbling and reduced to a mere six seats representation in the August House.
It now faces a forbidding prospect of a total wipeout. It would be interesting to see if they could rise from this defeat and launch a political comeback.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat, PKR suffered a more daunting prospect of stamping its presence in Sabah. With more than 10 seats contested, it managed to only win 1 seat in the constituency of Melalap, courtesy of an imported GRS candidate.
If political affiliation matters, Melalap could be considered as another win for GRS. Even Anwar Ibrahim’s hand-picked Ruji Ubi failed to capture Merotai albeit a glittering lavish campaign.
Perhaps the more glaring upshot in this election is the demise of DAP in Sabah’s politics. DAP, the powerhouse of Chinese electorates suffered a humiliating defeat. It was not just a mere defeat but a comprehensive annihilation and the drubbing was nothing short of Kafkaesque.
DAP’s legacy in Sabah is poised to acquiesce to a gruelling prospect of extermination. Solidarity within the Chinese is strong and they are known to be principled. They will never renege on their decisions until they find a good reason to do so.
There were unsettled issues that added up to all these political commotions.
For Sabahans, the outstanding 40% special grant, the MA63 issue, the selective prosecution on rampant corruption cases involving Sabah’s assemblymen, the incessant interruption of basic necessities of electricity and water, the dilapidated roads condition, the unfair distribution of the nation’s wealth and the constant abeyance of Sabah’s needs by the federal government are some of the factors that strongly pushed for a change in government.
This election also revealed a continuous fragmentation of the various races in Sabah devoid of a political strategy to take on the national parties.
Ideally it would be more effective to allow the Momogun base parties of UPKO, STAR and PKDM to contest in the Momogun heartland whilst Warisan do battle with PKR, UMNO and GRS in the Muslim bumiputera constituencies. Whilst we envisage the “Sabah for Sabahans” concept, we fell short of devising and executing a thoroughly planned strategy to effect the changes we aspire to.
Money politics has become a permanent feature of elections in Malaysia. There were reports of rampant money politics in the recent election.
Camouflaged under political donations or monetary assistance, they impinged upon the very core of democracy and the freedom of expression.
There are specific reports by electorates in Kiulu that they are deceived and coerced into voting candidates not of their choice. The gratification ranges from RM200 to RM300 depending very much on the desperate need to secure a victory.
Despite all that have transpired in this election, Sabahans have slowly become more mature and resolute in deciding the destiny of the State.
Sabahans have learned the importance of voting an effective and trustworthy government to lead Sabah. It may be another few years before we realised Sabah’s potential.
It is a political journey that every Sabahans should participate with strong commitments and undertaking.
We can dream of a utopian state of politics but we can never get there if we allow ourselves to be subjugated and exploited further.
