Race politics won’t play in Sabah, says analyst

'Regional identity is more important to Sabahans than ethnic identity.'

KOTA KINABALU: A political analyst has voiced doubt that Sabahans would begin to vote along racial lines, as suggested by a Suluk community leader.

Speaking to FMT, Arnold Puyok of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak said regional identity was more important to Sabahans than racial identity, meaning they prefer to see themselves as Sabahans first and then only as members of their ethnic communities.

“This is because many Sabahans are of mixed blood,” he said.

“When it comes to their political ideas, I think they are more interested in issues that affect them directly. These include issues such as corruption, public delivery, leadership and development-related matters.”

Puyok was commenting on remarks made by Datu Mohd Akjan Datu Ali Muhammad, the national adviser for the Suluk Sabah Mixed Blood United.

In an interview with FMT, Akjan said his community had grown disillusioned with the government because of continued discrimination faced by its youths. He hinted that the Suluks might shift their allegiance from Umno to Parti Warisan Sabah, whose president, Shafie Apdal, is a Bajau-Suluk.

Puyok acknowledged that he did not have data on the socio-economic development of the Suluks and could not comment on whether they had been left behind.

However, he said the Suluks’ attraction to Warisan did not mean that it’s a Suluk party.

“We cannot see this purely with the ethnic lens because issues such as family ties and political patronage are also important,” he said.

Nevertheless, he agreed that some political parties that used to promote themselves as multiracial were becoming more and more race-based.

“For example, Parti Bersatu Sabah, which was a multiracial party when it was founded, now has become more of a Kadazandusun-based party,” he said. -FMT