KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is heading to its 17th state election after a tumultuous five-year term, with caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor calling for a fresh mandate.
Hajiji’s administration was marked by political upheavals under the shadow of a changing Federal Government and a medley of unresolved local issues, from basic amenities to high-profile allegations of graft, implicating his coalition’s assemblymen.
The soft-spoken Sulaman assemblyman, dubbed “Mr Nice Guy”, managed to navigate each crisis, enabling his Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-led government to complete its full term.
His term ended yesterday instead of Oct 8 or Nov 11, which are the two assumed dates of the automatic dissolution of the 79-seat assembly.
Hajiji took over as Sabah’s 16th Chief Minister after his loose electoral coalition of Perikatan Nasional, Barisan Nasional and Parti Bersatu Sabah toppled the Warisan-Pakatan Harapan state government under Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
Trouble brewed immediately with Sabah Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin threatening to pull out of the freshly- formed coalition government after his promised Works Minister post was switched to the Local Government and Housing portfolio.
Hajiji succumbed to Bung Moktar’s demand, ending the mini-crisis that could have made his administration the shortest- term government.
However, relations between Hajiji, the Sabah Bersatu chief, and Bung Moktar, the Sabah Umno chief, remained strained as the fledgling state government had to contend with the Covid-19 pandemic, which peaked after the state election was held on Sept 26, 2020.
After Bersatu lost the 15th General Election in 2022, Hajiji led a massive exodus from the national party to form the local-based Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah, which is aligned with the unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Chief Minister’s move triggered a bid by Barisan to take over the state government, but Pakatan and defecting assemblymen from Umno derailed Bung Moktar’s attempt.
With the support of Pakatan assemblymen and Warisan lawmakers who crossed over, Hajiji held the state assembly with nearly two-thirds majority.
The state government had its fair share of controversies and issues, one of which was the disruption of water supply that impacted the daily lives of many Sabahans.
The problem became so dire that students from Universiti Malaysia Sabah got involved, carrying out street protests over water shortages and alleged corruption.
An alleged secret bribery video by businessman Datuk Albert Tei, who accused GRS Cabinet members and assemblymen of corruption, had also tainted the government, with two of its assemblymen and Tei being charged in connection with the allegations.
GRS and its partner Pakatan, have been doing their best to bring development and progress to the people in areas such as education, health, welfare, affordable housing, and significant investments and developments through the Sabah Maju Jaya development plan.
However, much of the success has been overshadowed by politics, with Hajiji’s rivals – Warisan and Barisan – accusing GRS-Pakatan of being a failed government as they escalated the issues.
Meanwhile, most pundits are predicting another hung election result, similar to the 2018 and 2020 state polls.
