My take on the Sabah state election

After 25 years of observing politics, I have learned that one can win on paper but lose elsewhere, and lose on paper but win where it matters the most.

With the dust now settled on the Sabah state election, several pressing concerns have emerged among the public.

The first is the clear and resounding defeat suffered by Anwar Ibrahim, and his daughter, Nurul Izzah, with PKR taking only one seat. Even DAP could not add to Pakatan Harapan’s tally to ease the embarrassment.

Another concern is the extent to which Albert Tei’s exposure of an alleged corruption scandal in Sabah shaped the election outcome.

GRS chairman Hajiji Noor is back on top, and whatever Tei did seems to have backfired, with Sabahans telling the notorious businessman in no uncertain terms to “go back to Peninsular Malaysia and stay there”.

Then, there was the so-called “divine miracle” of PAS’s victory. Although the party won only one seat, that victory was said to be “symbolic”. But was it really?

Surely the heavy losses suffered by DAP, Amanah and, above all, PKR can only be seen as Anwar’s failure.

What other language is needed to understand that this was a rejection of Anwar himself? What answer is there to Rafizi Ramli’s smirk and his smug “I told you so”?

Well, I, for one, have a different take.

Firstly, I never thought PKR would win a single seat given several unfortunate events prior to the election that were outside Anwar’s control.

For one, Rafizi has been punching holes in the party ever since he was voted out as deputy president. It appears that his ego has yet to recover from the embarrassment.

Many think he is criticising to “save” the nation, or at the very least, PKR, but having read his criticisms, I believe it was neither.

Umno suffered the same fate previously, with figures like Hishammuddin Hussein, Annuar Musa and Khairy Jamaluddin rattling the party with some of their comments.

Secondly, the court ruling which affirmed Sabah’s 40% entitlement to federal revenue earned in the state could not have come at a worse time.

The Malays have a saying for this: ditelan mati emak, diludah mati bapak (damned if you do, damned if you don’t).

Not contesting the verdict would have risked bankrupting Petronas and the federal government, while contesting it could have cost the election.

Although Anwar announced that the government would not appeal, anyone familiar with the Attorney‑General’s Chambers’ statement knows it left room for alternative interpretations.

It is never wise to enter any contest with a heavy “biawak” (monitor lizard) strapped to your back.

Thirdly, the “Sabah for Sabahans” clarion call rose like a tsunami, striking at federalism and Peninsular influence and resulting in serious setbacks to all federal parties. I am not sure how we can return from this to a Malaysia-for-all.

Reading the comments by one race on social media, I think we may be heading for a different kind of extremism that goes beyond religion.

But whatever the case, surprisingly, PH is back in government.

Not unlike a wounded Umno with a meagre number of seats following the last general election, PH managed to retain its position as part of the state government bloc — thanks to Anwar’s strategic political alliances that saved face for the country’s principal coalition.

Say what you will about the Sabah election — the one who came out on top was still the one-seat PH.

In contrast, neither the one-seat Perikatan Nasional nor the 25-seat Warisan became part of the government.

With BN joining the GRS-led government, Sabah is set for a strong and stable administration — a political win for Anwar.

As for Tei, I will say that while some politicians of my own race have been among my greatest disappointments, this man now stands above them all.

His attempt to bring down the chief minister through a trial by media did not sway voters, who decisively voted to return Hajiji to power. Kudos to Sabahans.

Finally, we turn to the so‑called “divine will” behind PAS’s first victory in Sabah.

I was shocked at the win, even though I had predicted that Sabah would in 10 years face the same extremism and conservatism now plaguing Peninsular Malaysia.

Has it arrived already? Is PAS’s brand of weaponising Islam and extremism now acceptable in Sabah?

Apparently not. Many say the candidate is nowhere near the likes of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang or other PAS leaders.

Aliakbar Gulasan is a decent Muslim who has denied claiming that he would outlaw alcohol and gambling. To many, Aliakbar embodies action, compassion, and responsibility — without the kind of arrogance seen in PAS’s Peninsular leadership.

Hadi’s claim of “victory” is without merit, for it was the Islam of moderation, compassion and responsibility — embodied by Aliakbar — that made PAS’s win possible.

After 25 years of observing politics, I have learned that one can win on paper but lose elsewhere, and lose on paper but win where it matters most. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.