Bung is wrong, the game is up for Umno in Sabah

 

From Ibrahim M Ahmad

Although all is “still calm”, Anwar Ibrahim is expected to land in Kota Kinabalu tonight to “give special attention to the (political) developments in Sabah”. He is expected to be joined by political counterpart Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Together, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman and the Umno president are expected to meet members of Umno, Warisan and component parties of the ruling coalition, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).

One wonders what they can actually do.

Yesterday, GRS chairman Hajiji Noor was proudly photographed with 43 other state assemblymen after he had informed the governor, Juhar Mahiruddin, of their support for him as chief minister.

Among them were seven from Anwar’s own PH coalition as well as five from Umno who had broken ranks with coup mastermind Bung Moktar Radin to remain loyal to the chief minister, and, more importantly, the mandate of the people of Sabah.

For his part, Bung remains defiant that he can push through with an overthrow of Hajiji’s administration. “(Hajiji) took my people, he corrupted everyone. But that’s okay. The ball is still rolling. We wait for the prime minister,” he said.

Yet, what will prime minister Anwar do? Will he support Umno’s attempt to subvert the mandate of the Sabah electorate and install a back-door administration?

Will he sanction the appointment of Bung – a politician tainted by corruption charges for which he faces trial in court – to the post of chief minister?

If he does, Anwar will lose the moral high ground that his PH coalition assumed when protesting against the “Sheraton Move” led by Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, and decrying Umno’s “corrupt leadership” in the lead up to last November’s general election.

In any case, even the mechanics to make the takeover work appear unachievable.

First, he must compel all seven PH assemblymen to desert Hajiji and cross to Umno’s side.

Even with that, Zahid and Bung will need at least two of Umno’s wandering five to return to the fold. Thus far, all five have stood firm, saying they were willing to be expelled from the party for sticking to their principles.

The reality facing Anwar and Zahid is that the horse has bolted and there is nothing they can do to salvage the situation.

Anwar lost his opportunity last week to assert his authority as head of the unity government by failing to compel Zahid and Bung to back down from the unnecessary turmoil created by Umno in Sabah.

In fact, the appearance of Anwar and Zahid in Kota Kinabalu tonight may well be to preside over the beginning of Umno’s demise in Sabah and cap a remarkable fall from grace for the once-dominant party.

Having first entered the state in 1991, Umno quickly imposed itself and formed the backbone of the state government from 1994 to 2018.

During that period, Sabah Umno boasted some half a million members, which allowed the state to become known as a “fixed deposit” for Barisan Nasional (BN), on which the coalition could always rely for a good many parliamentary and state seats at both general and state elections.

Umno-BN’s fall from power at GE14, however, saw several state party leaders, including Hajiji, and their supporters move en masse to Bersatu.

That brought about the highly controversial appointment of Bung – who at the time was already facing corruption charges – as Sabah Umno’s chief.

A divisive figure for his controversial behaviour in Parliament, Bung was put in charge of BN’s 2020 state elections campaign, and to the horror of many, became Sabah BN’s de facto candidate for the state’s top post.

As the election drew nearer, Bung took a massive gamble, leaving out several Sabah Umno strongmen like former chief minister Musa Aman – seen by many as the only person capable of uniting Umno and Bersatu assemblymen – and former federal minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

The move would prove costly. Although part of the winning GRS coalition, Bung would surrender the chief minister’s post to Hajiji, then of Bersatu, despite Umno winning 14 seats compared to Bersatu’s 11.

The party enjoyed a mini renaissance at the 2020 Kimanis by-election when first-time candidate Mohamad Alamin scored an upset over Warisan’s Karim Bujang, despite the latter being backed by the then state and federal governments.

Hajiji’s GRS coalition, with Umno in tow, would go on to bring much sought after political stability to Sabah.

In the run up to the 15th general election last November, Umno and BN once again entered into an electoral pact with Hajiji’s GRS, and successfully defeated Shafie Apdal’s Warisan to form the government.

Two months later, Sabah Umno’s reputation is in tatters once more, no thanks to its failed Kinabalu coup.

The horse has already bolted, and Anwar and Zahid’s intervention probably comes too late.

Zahid and Bung are unlikely to survive this defeat, while Anwar’s own credibility as prime minister will come under intense scrutiny whatever he does. - FMT

Ibrahim M Ahmad is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.