In Battle Of Five Ex Sabah Cms Musa Holds Ace Card

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SABAH POLLS | The forthcoming Sabah election might witness a battle of veteran politicians, with possibly up to five former chief ministers attempting to make a comeback
Among them are former president of the now-defunct Berjaya, Mohd Harris Salleh, and former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Chong Kah Kiat
Former chief ministers Salleh Said Keruak, who was once a former Sabah Umno head, as well as Yong Teck Lee, who is the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president, have also indicated their interest in re-entering the political arena in this election
While some may not contest in the snap election, they may still join the campaign trail to try and influence its outcome
For example, former Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who retired from politics in 2018, had given his support to PBS’ decision to use its own logo to contest, instead of the BN logo
The former 10-time Tambunan assemblyperson had also said he was enjoying his retirement and had no plan to return to politics
Most of these former political heavyweights who want to rejoin the fray have been out of the spotlight for some time and their influence may not be as strong as it was before - or have waned entirely since then. The key exception is incumbent Sungai Sibuga assemblyperson Musa Aman, who masterminded a coup against the Warisan-led Sabah government in late July but was thwarted by the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly
"They (the other former chief ministers) are not influential anymore. The only one with any real impact will probably be Musa,” East Malaysia observer and University of Tasmania academician James Chin told Malaysiakini
Aside from Musa, the other candidate who may have a chance in the state election is Salleh, who was the chief minister from 1994 to 1996
Salleh Said KeruakSalleh was also the communications and multimedia minister under former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration, up to 2018
Salleh had contested for the Kota Belud parliamentary seat in the 14th general election but lost by 4,262 votes to Warisan’s Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis Fakharudy
In October last year, he applied to become a PKR member but after the Pakatan Harapan federal government fell early this year, he cancelled his application in June and attempted to rejoin Umno
The approval for him to rejoin Umno is still pending. It is unclear what banner he will be contesting under if he runs for a seat in the Sept 26 Sabah election
Salleh will most likely contest in a state seat in the Kota Belud area, where he is a local warlord
LDP's third force ambitionChin opined that LDP's Chong may also stand a chance in the Sabah election as he still has a good reputation in Sabah
After Chong’s stint as chief minister from 2001 to 2003, he was appointed deputy chief minister when Musa took over the helm of the state government in 2003
Chong resigned from Musa’s cabinet in 2007, citing matters of principles. He did not defend his Tanjong Kapar seat in the 2008 election
However, in the coming Sabah election, LDP wants to be the “third political force” and is planning to contest in at least 40 state seats
Chong Kah KiatTheir candidates will include Chong, who reportedly is expected to contest in Inanam
“The person with a 50-50 percent chance (of winning a seat) is Chong. He retired without too much scandal, so he may be able to make a comeback
"Salleh also has a 50-50 chance. The rest really have no chance. The one with the best chance of succeeding is, of course, Musa,” Chin said
Sharing this view is Universiti Malaysia Sarawak politics and government studies senior lecturer Arnold Puyok
Arnold said that aside from Musa, the other former chief ministers may be able to split the votes - but it will not be enough to jolt the support base of more established entities like Perikatan Nasional (PN), BN or Warisan
Musa was the longest-serving Sabah chief minister, having held the position from 2003 to 2018 before losing the government to Warisan in a constitutional crisis
Musa AmanHe had won Sungai Sibuga with a 2,184-majority in the 2018 election, which is a huge difference from when he won the same seat with an 11,569-majority in 2013
Musa may face a challenge to his seat because five of the voting districts in Sungai Sibuga, which made up 37 percent of the votes in Musa's favour, have been moved to Sungai Manila, whereas two relatively large voting districts that mostly voted for Warisan remain in Sungai Sibuga
However, the Umno veteran may opt to move to Sungai Manila
The most powerful ex-CMChin said Musa is still very influential in Sabah because he has a lot of “resources”
“He’s got plenty of money, so he’s always a danger to whoever he is fighting,” Chin explained
Even if Musa wins a seat and the opposition captures the state, Musa's comeback as chief minister is not guaranteed
"Musa’s political future depends on whether he will be the one leading the campaign in Sabah because, if he leads the campaign and if he wins, then obviously he will come back as the chief minister
"If, for example, (Sabah Umno chief) Bung Moktar Radin or someone else is named as the leader to lead against Warisan president Shafie Apdal, then he (Musa) will probably come back as just an ordinary assemblyperson,” Chin added
There were also claims that Musa could potentially be dropped as a candidate in the snap polls but Bung has dismissed this as an attempt to drive a wedge between him and Musa
Bung Moktar RadinBN president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had named Bung, who is Kinabatangan MP, to spearhead Sabah BN’s charge in the coming state election
Zahid had said BN will leave the question of its chief minister candidate to be decided by Bung
It was also revealed by Umno supreme council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan that Musa had declined the role of leading Sabah BN in the election
However, Abdul Rahman, who is seen to be close to Musa, had attacked Bung's leadership. They have since made peace
Conventionally, the Sabah Umno chief becomes the state chief minister if BN wins Sabah
In this election, BN must not only win but also obtain more seats than its new partner, PN, to secure the position of chief minister
'Has-beens'Aside from the power play between the established players, the older former chief ministers are also planning their moves
It was reported that 90-year-old Harris was being courted to lead the United Sabah National Organisation (Usno)
Usno, which was founded in 1961, was in power in Sabah from 1967 to 1975. The party was deregistered in 1996 before being reregistered in 2013. It is currently being led by Ibrahim Linggam. Harris’ influence in Sabah is no longer anything near what it was during his time as the Berjaya government chief minister, almost 40 years ago from 1976 to 1984. Describing Harris as a "has-been", Chin said it is unlikely for the nonagenarian to win a seat in the Sabah election
The same can be said for SAPP’s Yong, the chief minister from 1996 to 1998 who served in a two-year rotation arranged by Sabah BN
The two-year rotation system was abolished when Musa rose to power in 2003
The former Likas assemblyperson has not been in the state assembly since 2002
Yong Teck LeeYong's last attempt to win a state seat in 2013 saw him garnering only 1,487 votes in Likas, out of the 15,294 votes cast
He also contested in the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat in the 2018 general election but lost to DAP and PBS, with only 3,132 votes out of 56,220 ballots cast
“Yong is also probably seen by the Chinese community (in Sabah) as a has-been,” Chin said
He will likely attempt to go for the Chinese-majority Likas seat again, which he served from 1985 to 2002
On June 30, Musa claimed to have obtained a "simple majority" to form a new state government
In response, Shafie received approval from the governor to dissolve the state assembly to pave the way for snap elections
Musa is now trying to stop the snap election via a judicial review
The judicial review was dismissed by the High Court in Kota Kinabalu on Aug 21, but he has appealed against this decision
His appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal yesterday, only five days before the nomination day set by the Election Commission (EC). A decision has yet to be made
The EC has set Sept 26 as polling day for the Sabah state election. - Mkini

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