COMMENT Malaysians who associate democracy with decency and fair play are still bitter about the coup Umno pulled off in Perak last year. But 15 years before Perak, there was Sabah.
In 1994, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), then a Barisan Nasional rival, won the Sabah state election, but did not even have time to uncork the champagne bottle. Umno moved in and, almost in the twinkling of an eye, engineered a coup through defections. They say Anwar Ibrahim led the charge.
Sabahans were the first Malaysians to denounce their statesmen as “katak” (Malay for “frogs”). Among the high-profile politicians who hopped out of PBS were Joseph Kurup and Bernard Dompok. Kurup is now the MP for Pensiangan and Dompok is the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister.
But PBS chief Joseph Pairin Kitingan had to face a more heartbreaking betrayal when his brother, Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan, left PBS to form his own party. Currently vice-president of PKR, Jeffrey hopped through three other political parties – PBRS, Akar and Upko—and even applied twice to join Umno, only to be rejected.
Kadazans divided
Though the Kadazandusuns, the majority community on Sabah, hold Pairin in high regard, his party no longer commands their support. The locals see no reason why they should support a party whose members’ loyalties are suspect.
It was rumoured that the frogs were offered up to RM3 million each to defect.
James Chin, writing about the 1994 election in Asian Survey, notes that despite strong regional sentiment and tribal nationalism in the state, these factors were not enough to withstand “the onslaught of the BN’s national political machine with its almost unlimited funds and resources”.
Those resources include local television and radio stations. The BN campaigns through them, and one of the campaign messages is the “Binalah Sabah Baru” TV commercial that shows people living in abject poverty. We are supposed to believe they are Sabahans, but they are actually illegal immigrants living in shanties.
It was telling that in the closely contested 1994 election, PBS won all 15 Kadazandusun majority constituencies while BN won the 18 Malay/Muslim constituencies. The remaining seven seats were predominantly Chinese. PBS won four of them and the rest went to BN’s SAPP.
PBS is now a shadow of its former self as other parties, including Upko and PBRS, jostle for Kadazandusun support. With Pairin’s inevitable retirement looming and Jeffrey’s image as a turncoat persisting, no candidate has yet emerged to unite the now-splintered Kadazandusun electorate.
Anwar was allegedly the prime mover behind Sabah Umno’s victory in the state. It is said that he was behind negotiations with the defectors, setting the wheels in motion for PBS’ dethroning.
We must forgive Sabahans if they are wary of PKR. After all, it is Anwar’s party and its head honcho in Sabah is Jeffrey.
What both Umno and PKR have failed to realise is that the racially charged politics that we associate with Peninsular Malaysia does not apply in Sabah. For one, the majority race is the predominantly Christian Kadazandusun and the brand of Islam practised in Sabah is far more moderate than that of West Malaysia.
Anwar made a huge political gaffe by his initial appointment of Azmin Ali as Sabah PKR chief, a move that alienated locals. His lack of understanding of the local political landscape and his inability to attract respected political leaders to PKR’s fold will make it nearly impossible for PKR to win Sabah in the next general election.
PAS will have an even more difficult time than PKR. Voters have soundly rejected the Islamic party’s overtures in the state. This leaves DAP as the only peninsular-based opposition party with any hope of winning seats.
Empty promises
However, Umno is not going to have it easy either. Despite its promises of development and aid, Sabah still struggles with poverty.
According to United Nations statistics (http://www.undp.org.my/uploads/SabahHumanDevp.pdf), 23% of households in the state live below the national poverty line, with child poverty rates standing at 42%. More than one fifth of the population aged six and above have never been to school.
Yet the state boasts rich natural resources and an enviable biodiversity, not to mention tourist attractions such as Sipadan island and Mount Kinabalu. The truth is that the state has precious little control over the revenues it makes, which are channelled directly to the federal government.
What has Umno brought? Instead of development and improved infrastructure, as it has promised in every election campaign, it has tried to tighten its hold in the state by appointing Malaysians from the peninsula as heads of departments in the civil service.
Umno has yet to address the problem of illegal immigrants. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala, who regards it as a minor issue, has obviously not visited the crime-ridden “black areas” of Kota Kinabalu, which are controlled mainly by illegal immigrants.
Sabah’s voters made their choice clear in the 1994 election. Simple majority or no, PBS had clearly won the mandate.
In the 1980s, former chief minister Harris Salleh bartered away Labuan to curry favour with the federal government and paid the price when the voters reacted by supporting PBS and ousting his party, Berjaya.
But the voters still suffer. The frogs betrayed not only their trust, but also put in place a government motivated by greed instead of a belief in democratic principles. Sabah deserves better.
Erna Mahyuni is a Sabahan writer currently based in Kuala Lumpur.
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