Sabah Polls Grs Warisan And Bn Lead In Packed Field

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Close race: Party flags hoisted up by a busy road in Beaufort, Sabah. GRS is set to contest 55 seats, Barisan 45, and Warisan 73 in next week’s election. ­— ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE /The Star
KOTA KINABALU: Even with a packed field and an alphabet soup of contestants, the Sabah election is heading into a three-way race – with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), Warisan, and Barisan Nasional the main players.
Amid the clutter of 596 candidates and 22 parties, GRS is ­looking to be in the lead, with Warisan trailing closely behind, say observers.

This is because the two are positioned as dominant local blocs, which fits the ground sentiments for local parties, says Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman assistant professor and policy analyst Liew Wui Chern.
Barisan, however, cannot be discounted in its attempt to return to the state government.
The leaders are key too. GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is a big name in the west coast of Sabah while Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal is a ­political warlord in the east coast.
Shadowing the two are Sabah Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, seen as a dark horse.
Hajiji is looking for a second term with new partner Pakatan Harapan, while Shafie is out to wrest back the government he lost in 2020, just like Sabah Barisan which lost power in 2018 after the General Election.
“Key local issues raised by Warisan such as the cost of living, water and electricity issues, the 40% state rights revenue, are giving a credible ‘people’s challenge’ to GRS,” said Liew.
However, he said since Warisan is going solo, it may face difficulties in the first week of campaigning.
“It’s not surprising that they are trailing, especially since GRS has more resources. Let’s see what happens next week.”
Still, Liew felt GRS has stronger appeal among youths compared to Warisan, as the Hajiji-led coalition is fielding more new faces.
“About 35% of the (GRS) candidates include professionals. They have also engaged modern campaign strategies and as the incumbent, GRS has both local machinery and institutional capacity; new and younger candidates that could energise youth turnout,” said Liew. 
Warisan, he added, is gaining ground with urban Chinese and Kadazandusun, and in the native-Muslim seats in the west coast of northern Sabah. 
A difficult-to-predict scenario has also emerged with the native Kadazandusun, Murut and Rungus seats, where a potpourri of political parties are contesting. 
GRS’ non-native and non-Muslim flag bearer PBS, has to face off with Sabah STAR’s Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, Upko’s Datuk Ewon Benedick, Parti KDM’s ­acting president Priscella Peter.
Each of them, according to analysts, have their own strengths and the winners  will play a major role in the formation of the next government.
While GRS and Warisan may dominate, Bung Moktar would come into play in the event of a hung assembly, said Nusantara Academy of Strategic Research senior fellow Prof Dr Azmi Hassan.
“If there is a stalemate, the combination will either be Warisan-GRS, GRS-Barisan or Warisan-Barisan (to form the next state government),’ he said. 
Azmi felt Warisan has better appeal with youths, given the party’s strong stance against Peninsular Malaysia’s political parties. 
“Youths are more inclined towards anti-establishment sentiments,” he said. 
However, Azmi said many youth voters would not vote as they are unable to return from the peninsula, where they work.
“This could be detrimental to Warisan. It is just too expensive to come back for the election,” said Azmi. 
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Assoc Prof Dr Mazlan Ali agreed that, based on the results of the previous state polls in 2020, Warisan and GRS are likely to be the biggest winners.
“Warisan contested in 46 seats and won 23 while GRS, then under the umbrella Perikatan Nasional which then consisted of Bersatu, Sabah STAR, Parti Bersatu Sabah, won 24 seats. 
“I think Warisan’s victory in 2020 was quite big, which was aided mainly by Pakatan, especially in mixed and Chinese-majority seats. 
“But this time, there is no clear cooperation between Warisan and Pakatan. So, I expect Warisan to trail behind GRS,” said Mazlan. 
“In the current political reality, youths are usually more attracted to the ideas of civil society as championed by Pakatan, especially PKR and DAP,” said Mazlan. 
GRS is contesting 55 seats, while Barisan is competing in 45 seats. 
Warisan is contesting all 73 seats in the Sabah state polls.  - Star

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