KOTA KINABALU: Within hours of the state assembly being dissolved, political intrigue and complex deal-making started shaping up among political parties to strengthen and position themselves as Sabah heads to the polls.
A mix of ethnic, warlord and regional politics are appearing as friends and foes, make or break electoral pacts are being considered with parties scrambling to secure as many of the 73 seats as possible.
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It becomes more complex as key partners in the federal unity government of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim are taking opposing political positions at the state level, ignoring his calls to avoid contests among themselves.
However, analyst Tony Paridi Bagang, a senior Sabah UiTM lecturer, said political parties’ existing positions are not cast in stone until nomination day.
“Up until nomination day, contesting parties will be actively negotiating their political alignments, whether through formal coalitions or informal ‘gentlemen agreements’,” he said.
Barring any change in standing, sworn enemies of the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Barisan Nasional under Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin will contest against each other.
However, the two coalitions, which have separate electoral pacts with Pakatan Harapan, will not go against Pakatan candidates.
Two other unity government partners, Parti Warisan led by former chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and Parti KDM under acting president Priscella Peter are going on their own in the election.
Since last week, the opposition bandwagon got heavier with Sabah STAR and Sabah Progressive Party joining after quitting GRS over its pact with Pakatan.
GRS, which has yet to formalise its deal with Pakatan over the 73 state seats, is expected to contest 55 seats while Pakatan is expected to contest between 21 and 23 seats in the GRS-Pakatan pact.
The Barisan-Pakatan seat sharing pact is expected to see the former contesting between 41 and 44 seats while Pakatan will take 23 seats.
Differences remain in both Pakatan pacts as component parties like Upko and DAP are pushing for more seats with undertones that they might contest some seats with their own logo.
The national opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional, led by its Sabah chief Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee will also plunge into the ring to contest over 40 seats.
A host of emerging “mosquito parties” are expected to join in the fray together with independents, calling themselves “Black Wave”.
Despite major differences, Bagang said it would not be a surprise if political alignments end up with strange bedfellows.
