Why Sabah an outlier in Umno-Bersatu ties

 

Umno and Bersatu have been at loggerheads in Peninsular Malaysia but in Sabah, it is a different story.

The Sabah chapter of Bersatu does not identify itself as part of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition but instead relied on the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) platform.

GRS is officially registered as a political party with the Registrar of Societies. Its members include Parti Solidariti Tanahairku (Star), Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).

While Umno and Bersatu leaders have been trading barbs even when they were part of the federal government, the relationship was much warmer in Sabah where the two parties are expected to reach an electoral pact for the upcoming parliamentary election.

Several political analysts told Malaysiakini that the Sabah chapters of Umno and Bersatu are inclined to have a pact purely out of pragmatism.

University of Tasmania's James Chin said unlike Peninsular Malaysia, Umno and Bersatu have to contend with not one but two major political forces - Warisan and Pakatan Harapan.

"There are also other local parties. So, we can expect four to five- cornered fights unless Umno and Bersatu work together.

"It's pure election arithmetic," he told Malaysiakini.

There are 26 parliamentary seats up for grabs in Sabah and Labuan. During the 2018 election, Warisan and Harapan won 14 parliamentary seats while BN won 12.

Most of the BN MPs defected and were with GRS right before the dissolution of Parliament.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's Jeniri Amir believed that Sabah Umno and Sabah Bersatu could put aside their differences because they had a common enemy in Warisan.

"There is a deep understanding between the parties on the need to stay together for the stability of the state," said Jeniri.

Cordial ties

Warisan ruled Sabah for 27 months before the state government collapsed due to defections.

Following this, Sabah Bersatu leader and Chief Minister Hajiji Noor has managed to cobble together a workable relationship with Sabah Umno leader Bung Moktar Radin even though ties between the two parties soured at the national level.

Umno leader Bung Moktar Radin

Chin opined that one reason for the relatively cordial ties was because little separates Sabah Umno and Sabah Bersatu.

"There is not much difference between Umno and Bersatu in Sabah. What I'm hearing is that eventually, they will come together as the Sabah bloc.

"Their dream is to have a Sabah bloc similar to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) that is very strong and local in order to negotiate concessions with Kuala Lumpur.

"They have seen what GPS is getting from KL so they know that is the way to go," he said. - Mkini