Lack of KDM figures led to Warisan Plus’ defeat, says analyst

 

Joseph Pairin Kitingan and Jeffrey Kitingan are towering figures in the Kadazan Dusun Murut community and their names are enough to sway voters.

KOTA KINABALU: The lack of influential Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) personalities in Warisan Plus was among the factors that led to its defeat in the Sabah state election last year, says a political analyst.

Tony Paridi Bagang, of Sabah UiTM, said the victorious Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition, on the other hand, had strong figures representing the community such as the Kitingan brothers.

He said founder and former Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Joseph Pairin Kitingan was still able to draw and retain support for the party, and ultimately GRS, despite having retired from active politics.

“Pairin was able to appeal as well as mobilise support for PBS and GRS,” he said during the “Sabah from the Ground: The 2020 Elections and the Politics of Survival” online forum today.

He added that Pairin’s younger brother, Jeffrey, who is Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president, was also a key figure in shoring up support for GRS in the election.

Bagang said the voting pattern in the KDM areas was still influenced by patronage politics and this had not changed much from the 2018 general election.

“It is also linked with (the) leaders’ contributions to society, especially when the person is holding special posts, for instance like the Huguan Siou (paramount leader of the KDM community), a position Pairin still holds.

“At the same time, the ‘Kitingan’ factor is still influential among the KDM, especially in interior areas.

“Personalities like the Kitingan brothers are absent in other parties. This is a disadvantage to Warisan Plus,” Bagang said.

Besides that, he said GRS was effective in playing up sentiments of ethno-nationalism, effectively retaining the KDM votes for the coalition.

“They (GRS) accused Warisan Plus of being associated with undocumented migrants and being pro-PTI (undocumented migrants), using ethnic sentiments.

“The (KDM) electorate, especially in the interior, also looks at GRS as being associated with Perikatan Nasional and being in a better position to offer them better monetary assistance as well as development compared with the Warisan government,” he said.

PBS and STAR won a combined 13 KDM-majority seats in the last Sabah election, more than the 11 seats won by Sabah Bersatu, the lead party in GRS.

Together with Sabah Umno’s 14 seats, GRS won a total of 38 out of the 73 state seats contested last year.

Warisan Plus, which won 32 seats, would have rued its luck at not having influential KDM figures to shift the votes as it would have secured victory had the coalition obtained at least six of the seats won by PBS and STAR.

Warisan Plus only managed to win five KDM-majority seats in the polls, namely Moyog, Melalap, Kadamaian, Limbahau and Inanam. - FMT