Musa poised for hat-trick in the polls

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, hailed for the state's sound financial management and moderation, is poised to steer Barisan Nasional (BN) to a hat-trick in the polls against a disjointed opposition after notching up overwhelming victories in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.
Brimming with confidence a day after the announcement of the dissolution of Parliment and the Sabah Legislative Assembly yesterday (which takes effect today), Musa, who is also state BN chairman, fired the first salvo by calling on the people of Sabah to make a wise decision and not to gamble away their future by experimenting with the fragile and untested opposition packaged under a new coalition of parties but with the same politicians.
"Choose wisely and don't gamble away our children's future. We hope the people of Sabah will continue to support the BN government, thus ensuring a big victory for the coalition in the 14th General Election (GE14)," he said.
Musa led the state BN to a thumping victory in the 2008 general election, capturing 24 of the 25 parliamentary seats and 59 of the 60 state seats, and this feat was repeated in the 2013 general election, winning 22 of the 25 parliamentary seats and 48 of the 60 state seats at stake.
The 2013 election was the toughest ever for BN, where at that time the winds of change looked so real many were tricked into believing the slogan of "Ini Kali Lah" (now is the time) that BN would lose to Pakatan Rakyat, but the outcome turned out to be the reverse.
With a disunited opposition, the chance for a possible one-to-one contest or showdown between BN and a united opposition front in Sabah appears to be going down the drain.
The opposition is divided into three blocs, namely the loose electoral pact between Parti Warisan Sabah (PWS) and Pakatan Harapan (DAP, Parti Keadilan Rakyat), the United Sabah Alliance (USA), which is made up of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) led by Bingkor assemblyman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (PHRS) led by Klias assemblyman Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) led by former chief minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee and Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS) led by Mohd Arshad Abdul Maulap, and the newly formed alliance of Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) led by Datuk Wilfred Bumburing and Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri led by Datuk Henrynus Amin.
This will give an edge to BN to score a hat-trick, thus creating a history of sorts in both the parliamentary and state elections expected to be held within the next month.
Although the emergence of PWS led by former Umno vice president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has caused somewhat of a ripple in the state's political arena, pundits opined that BN would still have the upperhand as multi-cornered fights would favour the ruling coalition, as evidenced by the 2008 and 2013 general election results.
However, they said, the state BN comprising Umno, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), Gerakan, MCA and MIC would have to put up with a stiff challenge from PWS and Pakatan Harapan.
According to political analyst and senior lecturer of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Dr Lee Kuok Tiung, "politics is a hotly debated topic by Malaysians all the time, not during election only and it is very common to see everything is associated with politics".
"The political scenario for the coming election is totally different from the last general election. During GE13 pre-election, wind of change rumours that Pakatan Rakyat would take over the federal government from BN looked so real.
"This time around we see the fraction is on the opposition side - bickering over seat allocations," he noted.
Lee said another factor that gave the advantage to the ruling party was the BN government's seriousness in tackling the various issues affecting the state, particularly in terms of security and infrastructure.
"With the establishment of ESSCom, the security situation in the state, especially in the east coast has improved tremendously, and last year there were no kidnappings involving Malaysians in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone).
"This means security measures taken by ESSCom to control the ESSZone proved to be effective, and this is of course a plus point for BN," he said.
Apart from that, he said the Pan-Borneo Highway project would also bring huge benefits for the people of Sabah, and this was made possible by the BN government.
He said it was obvious that most of the political parties were trying to capitalise on local issues, particularly the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63) to win the hearts and minds of the people of Sabah.
"You wouldn't be surprised to see politicians in Sabah would try to copycat the idea of 'Sarawak for Sarawakians'. Both BN and opposition have included MA63 in their respective manifesto. We hope it is not just a political gimmick for the purpose of election campaign," he added.
Lee said the feel good factor towards the good administration of the Sabah government under Musa, especially in bringing about development in all aspects for the people and the acceptance of the new transformation policy implemented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, the brainchild of the 1Malaysia concept, would also contribute to BN's victory in the polls.
However, he predicted that BN would face a tough time in recapturing the DAP-controlled areas of Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Sri Tanjung, Likas, Luyang, as well as strong challenge from the opposition in the urban and suburban areas.
Lee said these included the parliamentary seats of Semporna, Silam, Batu Sapi, Tawau, Beaufort, Penampang, Sepanggar, Pensiangan, Keningau, Kota Marudu, and state seats of Api-Api, Inanam, Moyog, Tamparuli, Kiulu, Elopura, Karamunting, Bingkor, Kadamaian, Kapayan, Matunggong, Klias, Sekong, Kunak, Tungku, Senallang, Sulabayan and Bugaya.
Another political observer, Luis Lidong, said although BN had the upperhand on paper, the onslaught by Shafie-led PWS and its ally Pakatan Harapan through a strategic alliance, should not be treated or taken lightly.
"In politics, nothing is impossible ... politics is fluid. For example, nobody expected Parti Berjaya (the then ruling party in Sabah) to lose so badly to PBS in the 1985 state election ... but it happened," he said.
On BN's chances of winning the coming state election, Luis concurred with Lee's views, stressing that the unity of state leaders in Umno, the backbone of the ruling Sabah BN government, as well as state BN leaders could be a trump card for BN.
"Musa as Sabah Umno chief has a good relationship with his deputy, Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak (Communications and Multimedia Minister).
"From what I can see, the close communication the two Umno Sabah leaders have with the people and each other has been a driving factor in the ongoing development of the state ... both leaders have the interest of the people at heart," he added.
Luis said the upcoming general election would certainly be highly interesting to watch as BN seeks another strong mandate from the electorate to govern the state for the next five years. — Bernama