“Pok silap” is used colloquially by locals about candidates trying their luck or hoping to slip through with a win as heavyweight political parties and personalities clash with each other in the 25 majority non-Muslim native constituencies.
The seats are seeing a crowded field of eight-cornered to 14-cornered fights.
At the heart of the battle for these seats are Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), led by acting president Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam, Sabah STAR led by Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Upko under Datuk Ewon Benedick, all of whom are fighting to keep their respective party’s sphere of influence relevant.
All three parties are championing Sabah rights but are now at loggerheads in the same battlegrounds, where voters are looking out for the most capable party and personality in delivering their basic development needs and achieving Sabah’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
The three parties are facing local opponents like Warisan and Parti KDM, who are also pushing for pro-Sabah rights, while the same issues are also in the sights of national coalitions like Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional.
At a roundtable discussion with Kadazandusun elders organised by the Sabah Way Forward NGO, the three leaders – Kitingan, Benedick, and, to some extent, Dr Gunsalam – suggested that the community consider candidates from Sabah STAR, Upko or PBS.
It is unusual for the three leaders, who are currently engaged in the election campaign, to attend a roundtable discussion.
The event, moderated by Datuk Philip Golingai, a senior news editor and columnist with The Star, focused on the political divides within the community and the need for Sabah parties to ensure local parties take back political administration.
Others at the discussion were former PBS president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, former Upko president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, and former chief justice Tun Richard Malanjum, the only non-political elder present.
Political analyst Tony Paridi Bagang said the three party leaders are holding on to their respective grounds amid a field of candidates in each constituency, which poses a challenge to their control.
“This signals a strategy to safeguard the status quo by defending the seats currently held by PBS, STAR and Upko.
“Their campaign narrative must prioritise retaining their core support and winning back any lost ground to ensure these seats remain securely under their control,” said Bagang, who is a Sabah UiTM senior lecturer.
Bagang explained that the unusually large number of candidates has intensified the complexity of this election. And in many of the non-Muslim native seats, voters have to decide on layered contests, such as veteran versus young leaders, long-standing rivalries, and big personalities clashing with emerging figures.
“Constituencies like Moyog, Tambunan and Tulid reflect how these dynamics heighten competition and divide voter loyalties.
“This election clearly reflects an intensified intra-ethnic contests within the Kadazandusun community.
“Rather than an inter-ethnic battle, the real contest lies among Kadazandusun leaders and parties vying for influence, legitimacy and control over the same support base,” he said.
Bagang said a fragmented outcome risks producing leaders with limited political capital to push Sabah’s agenda effectively.
