In Sabah, homegrown opposition parties have the edge for now

However, street poll shows some believe peninsula-based opposition parties may be the better choice in the long run.

KOTA KINABALU: Voters in Sabah are spoilt for choice when it comes to which opposition party to go for in the coming general election, although home-grown parties appear to have the edge for now.

On one hand, there is the home-grown alliance Gabungan Sabah, comprising Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS) and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), as well as Parti Warisan Sabah and Parti Cinta Sabah.

PAS, along with Pakatan Harapan (PH) which consists of PKR, DAP, PPBM and Amanah, make up the peninsula-based national opposition parties in the state.

A street poll on Tuesday found that both the home-grown outfits and their national counterparts in the state have their merits, but generally, people seem to agree that Sabah’s own local parties would better understand the situation and therefore make better choices.

But some said local parties have been tried and tested before and, sadly, could not rise to the occasion, thus giving the more established peninsula-based opposition a clear lead when it comes to deciding who would make a better government in the event that the opposition topples the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN).

Lester Dominic.

Tourism worker Lester Dominic, 42, believes local-based parties would perform better if they were to form the government, simply because they know more about local issues.

“For example, villages without electricity and proper roads. And especially my place in Penampang, which is always flooded after a downpour,” he said.

Rose Ragai agreed, saying it was important to know the background of local parties, their reputation on corruption issues and what they fought for.

“I would choose local parties because they know their roots.

“They know the needs of locals better and the sense of belonging is stronger than parties from Peninsular Malaysia,” said the 37-year-old ecologist.

Simplisius Joannes.

Storekeeper Simplisius Joannes, 49, on the other hand, was more blunt with his opinion.

“It matters that it has to be a local party for me because it is Sabah for Sabahans. To me, they are credible, especially Warisan… they look better (than the rest),” he said.

Chan Foong Hin.

Although acknowledging the people’s opinion that local-based parties would have a better understanding of local issues, Sabah DAP secretary Chan Foong Hin said this was not necessarily true.

“What I can say is that a majority of people want to see Sabah have a bigger role in the national development process.

“People want to see more autonomy returned to Sabah. If the state government is a local party and the federal another, then there would be no autonomy,” said the 40-year-old Sri Tanjong assemblyman.

He cited as example Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), which formed the Sabah government from 1985 to 1994.

“Nothing happened then. In Sarawak, the parties comprise all local-based parties but they still need to consult the federal government on certain issues.

“That’s why the best way is to change the state and federal governments with the same party.”

Chan said DAP was always willing to work with local-based opposition parties, adding that this could only result in the parties complementing each other’s strong points.

Amde Sidek.

SAPP deputy president Amde Sidek meanwhile said the street poll was a fair general assessment of the sentiments on the ground.

“I would say about 60% of people feel that way, in terms of being inclined to vote for local-based opposition parties.

“The difficult part would be which party to go for because there are so many at the moment. That makes it harder to pick from,” he said.

Mitchelle Germaine.

Mitchelle Germaine certainly feels the same way. “For me, it’s more about what these parties really have to offer, especially when it comes to making important changes.

“But at this point, I am still undecided. I’m not convinced yet,” said the 29-year-old company secretary.

Oliver Galasius.

Local businessman Oliver Galasius was also undecided on which party is best suited for Sabah.

“It has to be local-based. Do you like someone coming to your home and telling you what to do?

“But I think none of the parties will do better than the other because none of them is pure,” he said.

Hector Stephen.

Hector Stephen, however, said national-based parties could do more to help Sabah develop.

“Sabah-based opposition parties are better for locals since they know more about the local issues and also the local dos and don’ts.

“However, I would prefer opposition parties from Peninsular Malaysia if we are talking about budgets for the development of Sabah,” said the 38-year-old oil and gas worker.

Douglas Valentine.

Douglas Valentine, a contractor, said he would not vote for any party or alliance that had anything to do with former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Hamid Ismail.

Hamid Ismail, a PAS leader in Sabah, said issues pertaining to jurisdiction should not arise.

“Each party has its own principles. For PAS, it’s basically about Islam, which means everyone should get fairness, irrespective of race and religion.

“If we win, we will offer more, not only transparency but also spirituality. To date, there has not been even one PAS leader charged with corruption,” said Hamid, who lost his bid for the Tanjong Aru state seat in the 13th general election.-FMT