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By Jesselton Times picked up by Borneo Herald
KOTA KINABALU: Even with the challenges the Barisan Nasional (BN) faces before the Sabah state election, the party still has considerable strength and should not be overlooked.
Historically, the BN has been a dominant force in Sabah’s politics, winning almost every state election since 1994 and holding a majority until 2018.
Even as opposition parties gained strength in the 2020 elections, the BN’s influence and power remained evident.
Although the BN’s share of the popular vote in contested seats dropped in the 2018 elections, the party saw an increase in the allocated seats it contested in the 2020 state elections.
The 2018 general election was the first instance since 1994 where the BN did not secure power in the state elections, coinciding with the rise of the Warisan party.
Despite a decrease in its overall vote share in the 2020 state elections, the BN still achieved a notable victory, showcasing its ability to retain widespread support.
Looking ahead to the upcoming state election, many political analysts see the BN as a potential kingmaker, capable of boosting the seat count for major parties like GRS-PH or Warisan that aim to form the state government.
Social activist and political analyst Dr Gundohing Kanul Gindol opined that the BN is still a force to be reckoned with in Sabah.
“Out of the 73 Sabah seats, not less than 21 seats are still considered Umno’s stronghold, among them are Usukan, Lamag, Karambunai, Sukau and Pantai Dalit,” he said when contacted by Jesselton Times recently.
Dr Kanul whose expertise is in political communication, said in Sabah’s current scenario where single party’s strength is concerned, Umno is in the same league with Warisan, it has no other equal.
“We cannot say the same thing to GRS and PH or even BN and PN, as these are coalition of parties, like GRS’ strength is a combined strength coming from at least eight political parties.
“From here, no party can rule out the envied role of Umno, or Warisan in this case, in determining the results of the upcoming 17th state election,” said Dr Kanul, adding chances of shocking results are also very good as the field is open wide.
He further opined, a scenario where Umno and Warisan plus KDM could form a comfortable state government is already on the card, even as these parties declared war among themselves.
“This is truly a game of the possible..” he said, predicting a swift post-election coalition could be achieved hours after 9pm on polling day.
“Don’t rule out Umno or anything yet. To form a state government they just need a simple majority of 37 seats. Only Umno, Warisan or GRS could achieve this for now.
“Having said this, there are challenges for all these parties. Split of votes will be a common marker.
“I believe Umno leaders like Datuk Bung Mokhtar, Datuk Salleh Said and Datuk Rahman Dahlan would try their best to retain Umno’s loyalists, something Umno could not do away with if Umno is to retain its strongholds,” he said.
Dr Kanul however pointed out that Warisan’s steadfast stand that it wants to make pact direct with the ordinary Sabahans and not political parties, could have side-effects to Sabah Umno’s aspiration to still dominate Sabah politics.#~Jesselton Times/Borneo Herald™
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