POLITICS: Whispers of change in the wind for Sabah?

 

Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (left) and Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili (right)

Is there a political wind of change in Sabah?

The angin kencang (strong winds) speculation in the Land Below the Wind is that the Opposition Warisan Plus will form a coalition government with Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

Can Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal make a comeback to the Chief Minister post after Warisan Plus lost the snap state election to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) in September last year?

The math for the Warisan Plus/PBS coalition doesn’t add up.

Warisan Plus (Warisan 21, DAP six, PKR two and Upko one) with 30 seats and PBS with seven can’t form the state government as it will only have 37 out of the 78-seat assembly.

It needs other government assemblymen to jump.

Currently, the GRS state government has a majority of 48 seats.

On Tuesday, Shafie sparked the speculation when he said his party would love to work with PBS if given the opportunity.

The next day, PBS president Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili gave credence to the speculation when he said his party was willing to work with Warisan in the interest of the state and its people. Ongkili noted that PBS enjoyed a good working relationship with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, both through GRS and Perikatan Nasional.

Fuelled by Ongkili's statement, the rumour mill went on overdrive.

However, a PBS insider explained that the cooperation the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Minister was referring to was on issues like MA63 (Malaysia Agreement 1963) and PTI (pendatang tanpa izin or undocumented migrants).

A party insider pointed out that it would be suicidal for PBS to form a coalition government with Warisan as it would suffer the same fate as Upko.

In the 2018 Sabah Election, the Kadazandusun and Murut-based Upko, which attacked Warisan as a pro-PTI party during campaigning, won six seats under the Barisan flag.

The two-day-old Barisan state government collapsed when Upko supported a Warisan Plus government.

In the 2020 Sabah Elections, Kadazandusun and Murut (KDM) voters punished Upko for embracing Warisan. Upko won one seat.

“How will PBS explain to its voters that it was now in government with a party it attacked as PTI? Will the KDM voters leave PBS for Sabah Star in the next polls?” said the PBS insider.

The pillow fight between the PBS and Sabah Star also fuelled the speculation that the former was ditching the GRS state government. Both parties are vying to be the champion of the KDM.

There is also unhappiness among the GRS parties on sharing the spoils of the 2020 Sabah Election victory.

On Sunday (May 16) night, PBS secretary-general Datuk Joniston Bangkuai killed off the speculation of a new government, saying it was idle chatter as the state government was secure.

But several Warisan insiders insist that something is brewing, saying ground support for such a possibility was swelling.

“But leave it at that first. There is a saying in Murut - makatibusu, ” said a Warisan leader.

Makatibusu means better not to talk about something as it will be jinxed. - Star