Sandakan polls as important for Shafie as it is for DAP

SANDAKAN POLLS | In most parts of Malaysia, Pakatan Harapan depends on the likes of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar Ibrahim, Mohamad Sabu and Lim Guan Eng to pull in the crowd. In Sabah, that role lies with Mohd Shafie Apdal.

On nomination day, DAP leaders, some of whom were federal cabinet members, waited for Shafie to arrive before the team walked into the nomination centre.

At a press conference later, questions were aimed at Lim, the DAP secretary-general, who quickly passed them on to Shafie. "Let the chief minister say it."

While DAP and Warisan are cabinet colleagues in Putrajaya, in Sabah, the predominantly peninsula-based party accepts that Shafie is first among equals.

Shafie was not seen again in Sandakan until yesterday, where he attended Friday prayers before heading to an event to receive former deputy chief minister Raymond Tan, who had just defected from Gerakan.

The timing was no coincidence. Tan is formerly the Tanjong Papat assemblyperson. Tanjong Papat is one of two state seats under the Sandakan parliament seat.

A feast was to follow so Shafie urged his supporters to bear with him as he began his speech.

"My story will be long. Later ladies and gentlemen may feel hungry. But I am confident that we are willing to go hungry because fasting month is near...

"I hope ladies and gentlemen would embrace the hunger but don't stop from voting our candidate," he quipped.

Celebrity-like treatment

His next stop was a surau in Kampung Sim Sim. In these rougher parts of Sandakan, Shafie is treated like a celebrity.

Just a year ago, most of the voters in Kampung Sim Sim had voted for BN. But in the crowded surau, it is clear that they are warming up to the new boss.

"Alhamdullilah, thank you so much for his speech just now. We appreciate it a lot because he is helping DAP with his support,” said Attan Ibnor, a 63-year-old resident of Kampung Sim Sim, after Shafie's speech.

"I will support him and DAP this time."

There were wild cheers for Shafie when he spoke. A few donned T-shirts with his face emblazoned on them. They even cheered for Tan, their former representative.

But the modest Tan reminded the crowd that their attention should be on DAP candidate Vivian Wong.

Unlike his former colleagues in Umno, Shafie had no qualms stumping for his new partners in DAP. Clearly, the chief minister sees the election as a referendum on his short rule as well as that of the federal government.

Religion and jobs

In his speech, Shafie spoke extensively for what he had and will do for Sabah as chief minister. However, his main message was that he is a man of piety.

"While fighting for the cause, I had to sacrifice my younger brother, Yusof Apdal and my cousin.

"Because I held true to the advice I was given by an ulama (which is to) forget about my worldly existence, as what endures is the afterlife.

"My worldly existence is my brother, my values are my afterlife," said Shafie.

Shafie had fallen out with his brother in the run-up to the general election last year when Yusof pledged loyalty to Umno. However, Yusof quit the party soon after the election and joined Shafie’s Warisan instead.

Religion runs deep in these parts and Shafie acknowledged it.

"I support Vivian and I am still a Muslim - Haji Mohd Shafie Apdal," he said as the crowd cheered, clapped and whistled.

Urging the villagers to vote for Wong, he said this would show the world that Sabah politics is stable.

"When it is stable, investors will come to Sabah. When investors come to Sabah, there will be more jobs.

"When there are more jobs, then we don't need to go to KL to work," he said.

His finale saw him leading his audience into chants of "zero-three" to register his choice for them in the ballot slip which has five contestants come polling day on May 11.

He was mobbed once again for handshakes and selfies. As he had to leave for Kota Kinabalu, he couldn’t oblige everyone. So he made a promise to return to the village during Ramadan. - Mkini