Despite declining national poll numbers, Shafie says Sabah is different

SANDAKAN POLLS | Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal is undeterred by the declining approval rating of the Pakatan Harapan federal government, stressing that the situation is Sabah is different.

Downplaying the poor polls numbers' impact on the Sandakan by-election, Shafie said the contest cannot be compared to by-elections in Peninsular Malaysia.

"Sabah people know what they want... we cannot compare it to Semenyih or Cameron Highlands by-election," he said.

Harapan was defeated in the Sementih and Cameron Highlands by-elections.

A survey by independent pollster Merdeka Center found that the federal government's approval rating had declined from 79 percent when it first took power in May 2018 to 39 percent in March.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's approval rating had also declined from a high of 83 percent to 46 percent in the same period.

For the first time since May 2018, more people also think the country was in the wrong direction, at 44 percent, compared with the 34 percent who believe the country is on the right direction.

However, it is worth noting that East Malaysia is the only region where more people think the country is on the right direction at 41 percent, compared with 35 percent who think the country is in the wrong direction.

The two-week campaign for Sandakan by-election kicked off today. It is a five-cornered fight but the main contest is expected to be between DAP's Vivian Wong and Linda Tsen from PBS, a former BN party.

The independents are Hamzah Abdullah, Chia Siew Yong and Sulaiman Abdul Samad.

Shafie said the Sabah government, comprising a coalition of Warisan, Harapan and Upko, has a close working relationship with the federal government.

The Warisan president stressed that DAP's candidate can help bring development to Sandakan compared to other candidates.

"In Sabah, we have our plans. I have just returned from China and we will be bringing in billions in investment.

"Hopefully, this can be realised and I am sure once we realised it, there will be more job opportunities," he told journalists in Sandakan after the conclusion of the by-election nomination process. - Mkini