A time to clean up: A Pakatan Harapan party worker is seen removing campaign posters and dismantling wooden signboards from the back of a lorry along a busy stretch in Luyang, marking the winding down of campaign activities following the Sabah state election. — ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star
DAP paid a heavy price for failing to address real issues faced by the people
KOTA KINABALU: The rejection of the Chinese voters of all eight Sabah DAP candidates is a reflection of the community’s disenchantment with the party that failed to look at the real issues faced by the people in the state, says analyst Associate Prof Dr Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
He added that the national party did not seriously capture the important issues close to the heart of the people in the state, and now it has paid a heavy price for failing to address these issues realistically and pragmatically.
The senior lecturer said the emergence of local party sentiment as well as the Sabah rights issues together with the 40% revenue, were among the things the national and state DAP leaders had failed to understand and address.
“I believe the leaders from the peninsula who campaigned here had underestimated the seriousness of the local issues. They underestimated the importance of the basic infrastructure issues.
“These matters are likely to have contributed to the overall swing against DAP. Many voters from the community felt let down by the party, which they had hoped could help Sabah realise its rights,” he said, mentioning the general sentiment among the community ahead of the election: “Let’s teach DAP a lesson.”
Lee said internal problems, especially those highlighted by former Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Frankie Poon also contributed to the losses.
“The selection of some of the candidates could also have irked voters.
“It’s a wake up call for DAP. The Chinese are rejecting them. They need to rethink their strategies in terms of leadership and grassroots support in response to the Chinese socio-political context if they want to regain their footing.
“They should take this election outcome seriously,” Lee said.
A former Sabah Chinese leader felt that DAP as an opposition gained people’s support by highlighting the weaknesses and needs of the people.
But as a member of the government, they are now seen to be telling the people to follow government policies, even though these policies made the people feel uneasy in the first place.
“The election outcome also reflected the voters’ frustration, especially with the way federal DAP leaders handled the call for the Federal Government not to appeal against the 40% court decision,” said the retired politician.
The politician also claimed that Sabah DAP’s silence on businessman Albert Tei’s allegations on the mining prospecting licence bribes and the controversial issue of the RM20mil re-development of Tun Fuad Botanical Garden in Bukit Padang here, raised eyebrows among the people on their commitment to fight corruption.
“The Botanical Park issue has stained the local (DAP) leaders in the eye of the community as after the major development, which stretched over three years, people were complaining that it was overpriced and nothing much had changed.
“It does not mean any hanky-panky but the issue raises questions over the DAP’s involvement,” he added.
He said that the people also felt slighted when DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke attacked Upko president Datuk Ewon Benedick over his resignation as federal Cabinet minister in protest of the government’s move to appeal to the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s ruling on the 40% rights.
“When Loke said Ewon was no hero for his actions, I believe many Sabahans felt that he was talking down on their state rights,” the leader said.
