Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s (GRS) pledge to appoint a Chinese deputy chief minister if returned to power in the upcoming state polls signals its confidence in securing Bumiputera support, according to an analyst.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s Bilcher Bala said the offer would only make sense if GRS was confident of support from Kadazandusun-Murut (KDM) and Muslim-Bumiputera voters — given that all three current deputy chief ministers hail from these communities.
By convention, he said, the post of deputy chief minister III is allocated to a Chinese assemblyman, with the first two going to a representative each from the KDM and Muslim-Bumiputera communities.
Currently, STAR’s Jeffrey Kitingan and PBS’s Joachim Gunsalam — both from the KDM community — are deputy chief ministers I and II, respectively, while Umno‘s Shahelmey Yahya holds the remaining post.
Bilcher said GRS also appears to have successfully consolidated its support among Muslim-Bumiputera voters.
“Chief minister Hajiji Noor and GRS appear to dominate Muslim-Bumiputera support through Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah and other local parties in the coalition.
“And by not touching the post allocated to the KDM, GRS may be wanting to indicate to KDM voters that the appointment of a Chinese deputy chief minister would not affect their position, thereby helping to retain their support,” he told FMT.
Both Bilcher and Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs believe Hajiji’s announcement will be well received by the Chinese community.
Oh said the community will be looking more to GRS’s plans to develop the state.
“The attention of voters nowadays is perhaps focused more on infrastructural concerns, such as adequate electricity and clean water supply, adequate roads and flood mitigation. I think the focus of many voters now is on that,” Oh told FMT.
He said GRS will likely announce election pledges for the KDM and Bumiputera communities ahead of the polls.
On Monday, Hajiji said GRS will appoint a Chinese representative to the post of deputy chief minister if it retains power in the upcoming 17th state election.
Acknowledging the community’s “highly significant” contributions to the Bornean state, especially its economy, the chief minister said many senior civil servants in Sabah were also of Chinese descent.
A Chinese assemblyman has always held the deputy chief minister III post, but this tradition ended when GRS formed the state government in 2020 as there was no representative from the community.
Bilcher said GRS’s pledge was likely have a positive effect on Chinese voters, provided it addresses the community’s key concerns, especially in the areas of economic development, better education prospects and social justice.
He also said the alliance with Pakatan Harapan would be crucial for GRS, given PH’s strong support among Chinese voters in urban areas.
“In principle, it’s a good decision. It’s an official acknowledgement of the community’s contributions. It also expands on the narrative of an inclusive Sabah.
“Sabah has had a more ‘open’ and multi-ethnic political history compared with Peninsular Malaysia. So having a Chinese deputy chief minister strengthens the ‘Sabah for all Sabahans’ narrative and rejects political exclusivity.”
However, Bilcher said the state government must go beyond symbolic unity gestures to establish just and meaningful policies.
On Monday, Hajiji also announced that the GRS-led government would recognise the Chinese vernacular schools’ Unified Examination Certificate, allowing its holders to obtain state scholarships and enrol in state-owned universities.
