KOTA KINABALU: The people must remain vigilant against the manipulation of sentiment politics employed by certain parties solely to garner support.
In making this call, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak), Datuk Mustapha Sakmud, stated that the phenomenon of sentiment politics, which prioritizes emotions, ethnicity, or rhetoric over actual performance, is increasingly dominating the political landscape of the country.
He noted that the analysis and preliminary findings from the state election results in Johor and Negeri Sembilan indicate that political sentiment clearly outweighs performance metrics, which he finds quite concerning.
“Indeed, this political scenario will have some impact on politics in Sabah.
“If we look at the economic performance of the country and the state government’s achievements… it seems these factors are not being considered in the decision-making process.
“It appears that sentiment is taking precedence. Therefore, we need to consider whether this is beneficial for the country or not. However, I believe we still have time to address these weaknesses,” he remarked.
Mustapha made these statements to reporters after officiating the Excellent Student Award Presentation Ceremony for Madani STPM 2025 at the Kota Kinabalu Sixth Form College today.
Among the key achievements of the MADANI Government in Sabah are the increase in development allocation to RM17.5 billion for 2026, resolution of claims under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), including nine issues, and the rise in the Special Interim Grant for Sabah to RM1.5 billion.
Additionally, the Federal Government has recognized the Department of Public Works (JKR) and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS) Sabah for approving projects worth up to RM50 million.
When asked to comment on the Sabah State Government’s proposal to provide free education at higher education institutions owned by Yayasan Sabah, namely University College Yayasan Sabah (UCSF) and the Technology College of Yayasan Sabah, Mustapha said that it is reasonable to implement if the state’s financial position allows for the common good.
