Sabah election: Test of solidarity in Muafakat Nasional

The Sabah state election, which is set to take place on Sept 26, will be the second test to gauge Muafakat Nasional's solidarity after its win in the Slim by-election last Saturday.

Political analysts opine that greater challenges await the coalition in Sabah, taking into account issues including candidate selection and overlapping seats.

Political analyst Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod said seat allocations would definitely be the focus in Muafakat as Umno, PAS, and Bersatu would feel slighted if their candidates were not selected.

"Disputes over seat allocation are inevitable. However, BN's experience over the matter should be utilised to ensure fairness to all," he told Bernama.

Muafakat co-secretary-general Annuar Musa reportedly said the coalition agreed to accept Bersatu on the basis of uniting the Malays and building the strength of Malay-Muslims.

Last Tuesday, Annuar tweeted that Umno, PAS, and Bersatu agreed to discuss seat allocations for the bloc and draft a joint manifesto for the general election. They also expressed support towards the current government under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

The Muafakat coalition seemed to have proven its unity so far - evident when BN retained the Slim state seat with an increased majority of 10,945 votes.

Nik Ahmad Kamal, who is a legal adviser of the International Islamic University Malaysia, said the Sabah state election would serve as a platform for Muafakat to prove if it could repeat the same success on a larger scale.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia analyst Azmi Hassan said Muafakat's ability to decide on and accept a common selection of candidates, logo, and manifesto for the Sabah election would determine if the coalition can face the 15th general election as one entity.

"Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Muafakat need to decide and resolve the issue because the existence of these two entities not only confuses voters but makes it difficult (for the coalition) to discuss the distribution of seats.

"It is difficult for PN and Muafakat to differentiate themselves because the main players of these two entities are the same," said Azmi.

Universiti Utara Malaysia analyst Shukri Shuaib said the agreement to not fight for seats in the Sabah election could relieve tensions among the parties.

He said it was also a good sign that disputes over power and position were not serious in Muafakat and PN, especially between Bersatu and Umno. He added that this showed the maturity of the parties.

"The mutual agreement is timely. The majority of people, especially the Malays and Bumiputera want the Malay and Bumiputera political parties in power to unite," Shukri said.

On July 30, Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal announced the dissolution of the state legislative assembly to pave the way for state elections.

- Bernama