KOTA KINABALU: A convincing campaign against Warisan Plus and the effects of an economic slowdown hitting the livelihood of lower income families appear to be among the causes of Warisan’s narrow defeat at the Sabah elections.
GRS now faces some thorny challenges such as reaching an amicable agreement on whom to nominate as the next Sabah chief minister.
That is apart from convincing Sabahans that the loose coalition is not coming into power carrying the baggage of the past, political observers said.
Among the observers was lawyer Hamid Ismail who said the GRS victory was an indication that there had been some level of cooperation in the campaign efforts of component parties including Umno, PPBM, PBS, STAR and PBRS.
He said Warisan Plus no longer had the aura of being a fresh alternative, as it appeared in the 2018 general election.
Other observers said GRS had run a strong campaign and had brought up issues that put Warisan on the defensive.
Hamid said a key factor that affected support for Warisan was the statement by its Segama candidate Mohamaddin Ketapi describing the intrusion of Sulu extreminists in Tanduo as nothing more than “playacting”, and saying that the security forces had been “shooting at dogs and chickens”.
“That was a big mistake,” Hamid said.
Former state assistant minister Pang Yuk Ming said the economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic had had a more severe effect on lower income and rural families and led to a loss of support for Warisan.
“When the economy does badly there is a tendency, rightfully or wrongfully, to blame it on the government of the day. When the economy is humming along well, voters find it easy to back the government,” said Pang, who is deputy president of PCS.
He said Warisan had fared better in urban and semi-urban seats, where there were more middle-income families, and were hit hard in rural areas where incomes were lower.
“For rural folk, it has been a case of ‘susah cari makan’ and they feel that the government has been ineffective in helping them,” said Pang.
He said the personalities of candidates had been another factor, which helped some independents to defeat candidates from the more established parties.
“They were well known in their constituencies. Voters felt the independent candidate had treated them well and they responded in kind,” said Pang.,
The task ahead for GRS was for the component party leaders to agree who should be the next chief minister. Before the elections, leaders of Umno and PPBM had both set claim to the post.
“PN combined with PBS have more seats than Umno, so it’s obvious where the CM post should go,” said Pang. PN won 17 seats and PBS 7, while Umno candidates gave BN 14 seats.
Other observers, however, questioned whether Umno would be willing to accept such a position.
Hamid said the challenge for GRS was to prove to Sabahans it would be different from former state governments led by BN. “GRS must prove that it is a new government with a new style of governance that will benefit Sabahans,” he said.
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