Sabah Polls: Vote According To Realistic Development, Not Local Sentiment - Researcher

By Fadzli Ramli

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Sabah voters should cast their ballots for the 17th Sabah state election based on realistic development packages that are inclusive and not merely on local party sentiment, a researcher said.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Borneo Election and Geopolitics Study (GeoPES) researcher Dr Haryati Abdul Karim said voters need to be smart and pragmatic as they have experienced administrations under local, national parties as well as coalitions of local and national parties.

"Voters should choose whoever can offer realistic packages that succeed in lifting Sabah as a progressive and prosperous state without affecting its relations with the federal government,” she told Bernama, as Sabahans really need state leadership with a clear vision and mission to develop Sabah, which has huge potential of being a rich and developed state.

"Therefore, the narrative of voting local parties, rejecting outside parties is not so relevant, what more the slogan ‘Sabah for Sabahans’,” she added.

The UMS Social Science and Humanities Faculty senior lecturer pointed out the real question for Sabahans were the basic infrastructure issues that affect the quality of life, so voters need to look at the party able to solve such issues.

From the socio-economic aspect, the absolute and relative poverty rates in Sabah were still at double-digits, with low income levels and limited job opportunities a major issue for the state, Haryati noted.

Local parties heading the state government was not something new for the state as Sabah had been led by local parties, including United Sabah National Organisation (USNO), Berjaya and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) but socio-economic problems remained unsolved, she added.

It was only in 1990 that UMNO came into Sabah and became the dominant party in Barisan Nasional (BN) and the Sabah state government before it shifted to a coalition of local and national parties.

"Narratives to vote local parties also make as if Sabah has never been led by local parties, which is untrue,” she pointed out.

Institute for Development Studies (Sabah) chief executive officer Assoc Prof Datuk Dr Ramzah Dambul meanwhile said that the vote local party campaign and prioritising local rights might seem similar but were vastly different, as the vote local party narrative was a political ploy used by parties to garner support to gain power, while prioritising Sabah’s rights was more towards protecting the state’s and public interests.

“The call of Sabah for Sabahans, we have to accept the fact that aligning, cooperating with the federal (government) is also a very vital aspect if we wish to develop. So where is the relevance of just voting local parties.

“Instead, choose local parties that can bring development and economic progress through cooperation with the federal government, while prioritising Sabah’s local rights,” he said, adding that attention should also be placed on choosing leaders and a state government capable of negotiating effectively and firmly with the federal government to gain resources to develop the state.

“It is about how firm we are negotiating. We need to know what’s in front of us. If we have very strong economic leadership, maybe we can negotiate with the Federal Government more effectively,” he explained.

He also noted that Sabah had certain rights in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 in the context of the Malaysian Constitution that needed to be understood and championed in the right manner. Sabah’s political leadership need to look at development from a wider perspective and not mere political sentiment, he concluded.

Sabah voters will cast their ballots on Nov 29, with early voting taking place on Nov 25.

-- BERNAMA