Sabah polls produces a few shockers

THE gates to the Sabah Governor’s official residence swung open for Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor several hours after his coalition partner PKR, which won only one seat, announced they were forming the government.

It was bizarre to watch PKR secretary-general Datuk Fuziah Salleh claiming victory in Sabah but unable to provide the number of seats they had in the bag.

“We are known for unusual things in Sabah but, no, this is more than unusual,” said an Umno politician from the state.

But it is strategic of PKR to claim the stage while the details are still being worked out behind the curtains.

The final numbers were still up in the air when Hajiji, looking older than his 70 years, was sworn in as Chief Minister a little after 3am.

In Sabah, one does not waste time rushing through the gate.

Hajiji’s Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition had won but somehow it did not feel like a genuine victory and he was once again leading a government of strange bedfellows.

His Pakatan Harapan partners had been discarded like used tissue paper, blown away by the anti-Malaya mood.

The shock from DAP’s loss in every one of the eight seats contested rippled beyond Sabah, drawing a deluge of comments on social media from Chinese in the peninsula.

Memes of a tray of eight eggs with the Rocket logo flew through the internet.

The scary part is that many of these Chinese were applauding their Sabah counterparts for showing DAP the door. It seemed like the community was itching to teach the party a lesson.

PKR has always been ambitious about Sabah but they simply do not put in the hard work needed.

A number of their 13 candidates were imported from other parties and even the sole PKR winner in Melalap, Datuk Jumawi Jaffar, had hopped from one party to another over the last few years.

As such, many were incredulous to see PKR’s Fuziah face the media on Sunday night with a victorious smile to announce forming the government when her party had been roundly rejected.

Pakatan had a big war chest and there was a carnival-like atmosphere at the big dinners they threw and the artistes and sexy dancers they brought in to entertain voters.

Young voters turned out in droves to watch a popular boy band perform in Merotai where PKR candidate and former civil servant Datuk Ruji Ubi stood beside Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim watching on.

But Ruji lost to Warisan’s Sarifuddin Hata who took to Facebook with the message: “Forgive me, I cannot afford to bring in artistes and spend hundreds of thousands. I can only work hard and submit to the Almighty.”

That was such a cost-effective way of winning sympathy and support and Sarifuddin deserved to win.

Umno was also blown away by the Sabah for Sabahans wind.

Umno actually won only five seats, with the sixth won by Arthur Joseph Kurup in Sook. The boyish-faced Arthur is the president of PBRS, a partner of Barisan Nasional.

Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar should take responsibility because he is a liability. Bung and his wife are fighting corruption charges and he is disliked by Governor Tun Musa Aman as well as Hajiji, who he tried to topple in a failed coup in 2023.

The big question is what happened to Kadazandusun Murut or KDM parties who thought they could win better by going solo but have come out poorly?

Many have since mocked the roundtable discussion of KDM bigwigs calling for the community to stand up as one for their rights.

It did not make sense that they were calling for unity when their respective parties were fighting each other in almost every seat. Real unity would have involved hammering out an agreement to not clash with each other.

They paid the price and the “heroes” who left GRS to go solo are now apparently back with Hajiji and his Pakatan partners.

In the end, it was Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), which stayed on with GRS, which did well with six seats.

GRS as the incumbent ruling coalition, is flush with funds and their campaign centres were well-equipped with food, drinks and other facilities.

And although so many of their candidates were implicated in the mining corruption scandal, they are known to take care of their base.

Another development that intrigued onlookers was the defeat of the Governor’s son Yamani Fafez Musa in Sindumin.

It was seen as some sort of protest against Musa and it is apparent that Sabahans were uncomfortable with the string of Musa’s relatives contesting the polls.

More tragic though was how some personalities failed to heed the siren for change. They not only lost the vote, they also lost face.

The most notable among them were former Foreign Minister and brother of the Governor, Tan Sri Anifah Aman and also former Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin who almost lost his cool when a reporter asked about his chances of winning. The reporter should have accepted his challenge to take a bet on it because she would have won.

It is sad to see senior politicians who become tone-deaf to the changes unfolding around them.

The party that actually won on its own strength was Parti Warisan which took 25 seats but was unable to cajole other parties to come onboard.

Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal’s animosity with the Governor is well-known and the Prime Minister is also not comfortable with the prospect of Shafie as Chief Minister.

It is said that Anwar is the winner in being able to maintain Hajiji and GRS whom Putrajaya can work with. But his own party and partners got the shelling of their lives.

If there is some good from DAP’s defeat, it is the way their leaders accepted the verdict like gentlemen. DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke conceded defeat shortly after 8pm, congratulated the winners and pledged to take note of the signals sent.

Sabah DAP chief Phoong Jin Zhe said it was a wake-up call and he heard the “anger, disappointment and frustration”. It is good that politicians respect the people’s decision and take defeat with grace.

Where does the Sabah for Sabahans sentiment go from here? Can Hajiji carry this into his second term as Chief Minister?

The Sabah election has been like a fast-paced movie and the movie is still playing.