Crowded field in Sabah polls bad for democracy, says Umno veep

Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin says having too many candidates will not help to nurture democracy.

JOHOR BAHRU: Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin says having so many candidates and political parties contesting in the Sabah polls could be bad for democracy instead of nurturing political freedom.

While acknowledging that some viewed the many candidates as showing the healthy state of democracy in Sabah, he said having numerous contestants was not an accurate measurement.

“We see many in Sabah are contesting in the polls without a clear agenda or tidy strategy, but are doing so for the short-term interests of leaders or for certain agendas.

“Surely, that can be considered as harmful for democracy, instead of nurturing it. That is my opinion of what we’re facing in Sabah,” he said at an event here today.

Khaled also said the decision by certain parties to name their candidates for Sabah chief minister was just a tactical ploy to garner votes.

“Whether that becomes the reality or not, as mentioned by (Umno president) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, depends on the election’s results. It’s more of a tactic to win votes. It’s not clear yet if it will be the reality,” he said. - FMT