Issued By Daniel John Jambun, President Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
KOTA KINABALU: Recent remarks by former Chief Minister Salleh Said Keruak suggesting that Sabah and Sarawak could emerge as “kingmakers” in the forthcoming General Election sound persuasive on the surface
Yes, numerically, Sabah (25 seats), Sarawak (31 seats), and Labuan (1 seat) together form a significant bloc. In a tightly contested Parliament — as witnessed in the aftermath of the 2022 Malaysian general election — those seats can become pivotal.
But Sabahans must ask a harder question:
Who weakened Sabah’s leverage in the first place?
For decades, Sabah’s bargaining power was diluted by the expansion of peninsula-based party structures into the state — most notably through the dominance of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). That era entrenched race-and-religion-centred narratives, centralised federal authority, and fostered a culture of political patronage over constitutional negotiation.
Today, when calls are made to resist “Malaya-style race politics,” it is important to remember who institutionalised those very dynamics in Sabah.
Sabah cannot become a credible kingmaker while:
* Still divided by federal-aligned party loyalties,
* Still negotiating through individual leaders rather than a state-first bloc,
* Still lacking a unified, pre-election constitutional platform.
Kingmaker status is not about post-election arithmetic. It is about pre-election discipline.
If Sabah and Sarawak truly intend to act as equal partners in the Federation, then the following must be declared clearly before polling day:
1. Full and time-bound implementation of MA63 safeguards.
2. Resolution of the 40% net revenue entitlement under Articles 112C and 112D.
3. Clear constitutional settlement on petroleum governance.
4. Administrative autonomy consistent with founding partner status.
Without these non-negotiables, “kingmaker” rhetoric risks becoming a convenient slogan — invoked during political uncertainty but forgotten once positions are secured.
Sarawak’s relative cohesion stems from strong local party dominance. Sabah’s challenge is deeper: it must break free from the structural habits that made it dependent in the first place.
Unity is indeed strategic leverage.
But unity built on recycled federal politics is not strength — it is repetition.
If Sabah is to be a kingmaker, it must first decide whether it stands as a state with a clear constitutional agenda, or merely as a collection of seats waiting to be counted.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Jesselton Times.
