There were more losers than winners in the Sabah polls on Saturday, given the 596 candidates who threw their hats in the ring for the 73 seats in the state assembly.
With more than 20 parties in the fray, most of whom were Sabah-based, only eight ended the night with at least one seat to their name, with these parties unsurprisingly among the more established entities.
But some winners and losers are bigger than others, with the outcome of the election expected to have wider implications for them.
FMT takes a look at the biggest winners and losers in the Sabah polls:
Winner – Hajiji and GRS
Without question, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman Hajiji Noor is among the biggest winners, earning a second term in office as chief minister , with the backing of Upko, Barisan Nasional, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku, Pakatan Harapan and five independents formerly with GRS.
While Hajiji’s coalition may not have attained a simple majority on its own, its confidence would be buoyed by its success in seizing several BN and Warisan strongholds via the ballot box instead of through defections as in the past.
It managed to ride the wave of Sabah-centric sentiments, despite some accusing it of being too cosy with Putrajaya, and retained a good chunk of Kadazandusun Murut and Muslim-Bumiputera support.
Loser – BN
A poor performance saw Malaysia’s grand old coalition reduced to just six seats after its worst electoral outing in Sabah in decades as key leaders failed to win their contests. In comparison, BN won 59 of 60 state seats in the 2008 election.
Even state chief Bung Moktar Radin nearly lost in Lamag, with his already slim majority of 661 votes in 2020 shaved to 153 on Saturday.
Already, pundits have been calling for leadership rejuvenation in BN, both at the state and federal level, considering that Sabah was once deemed a “safe deposit” vote bank.
BN chairman and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi would no doubt be feeling the pressure, with state assembly elections in Melaka and Johor also around the corner and the prospect of the 16th national general election (GE16) looming.
Winner – Warisan
Despite failing to form the state government, Warisan won a handsome 25 seats all on its own as it went solo in the election, giving GRS a decent run for its money.
The swing in Chinese votes from DAP and PKR to Warisan was among the biggest shocks, and while some may question whether this support will last in the long term, it still stands for something that the party snatched nearly all urban seats.
In the larger scheme of things, it gives Warisan stronger representation in the state assembly and also political influence over Sabah as it makes preparations for GE16, perhaps going solo again.
Loser – PH
A DAP wipeout and PKR‘s loss of two traditional seats will have set alarm bells ringing in the national PH leadership, with the results already deemed a wake-up call necessitating deep introspection.
There will be fears that the rejection by Chinese and urban voters will not be isolated to Sabah alone or premised purely on Sabah-centric sentiments, but are a result of pent-up discontent with economic issues and apparent compromises on corruption.
Certain quarters within PH, including outspoken figures like PKR‘s Rafizi Ramli, are also expected to ramp up their criticism of the current leadership.
Winner – Sabahans
While the outcome of a hung assembly may not have been what Sabahans sought, they would no doubt take pride in the strong message that they sent to West Malaysia-based parties.
Even Pakatan Harapan chairman and prime minister Anwar Ibrahim acknowledged that the heavy defeats by PH and BN were a clear sign that Sabahans wanted to be led by their own and for their home state to regain its rights.
The federal government would find political incentive to get cracking on delivering all its pledges for Sabah with GE16 looming, which would in the end work for the benefit of Sabahans.
Loser – Nurul Izzah
PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar was supposed to be among the key figures leading the charge for both her party and PH on the campaign front, but she appeared to have a rather muted role.
Anwar seemed more involved in the campaign than his daughter, going across the state on multiple trips in hopes of shoring support for PH candidates, an effort which evidently did not yield much results.
Nurul Izzah was quick to accept responsibility for the heavy defeats while insisting that PKR’s fight continues in Sabah, but the former MP’s credentials as a political leader will now be under greater scrutiny.
Winners and losers – Sabah ‘frogs’
It was a mixed bag of fortunes for serial defectors in Sabah: some managed to win seats, others lost their contests.
Among the winners was PKR’s Jamawi Jaafar, formerly of GRS, who took the Melalap seat, as well as GRS candidates Mohammad Mohamarin (Banggi), Ben Chong (Tanjong Kapor) and Arsad Bistari (Tempasuk), all formerly of Warisan, who were successfully re-elected.
The same could not be said for PKR’s George Hiew, previously of GRS who was ousted after two terms in Karamunting, or former Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku deputy president Ellron Alfred Angin, who lost his Sook seat to BN’s Arthur Joseph Kurup.
Ellron used to be from Kurup’s Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah but left for Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) in 2018, before quitting STAR last month after it withdrew from GRS.
Lucky winners with razor-thin margins
Given the multi-cornered contests, the splitting of votes led to close calls in multiple seats as winners escaped with very slim majorities.
The assemblyman with the luckiest break was Warisan’s Azhar Matussin, who retained the Darau seat by just 63 votes, followed by BN’s Harun Durabi who defended his Bengkoka seat by a meagre 77-vote majority.
Warisan had another close call in Sungai Sibuga, a BN stronghold, as its candidate Nurulalsah Hassan Alban won the seat just 88 votes ahead of Sabah Umno information chief Suhaimi Nasir.
Chong and Jamawi could also count themselves lucky, as they won in Tanjong Kapor and Melalap with majorities of 369 and 525 votes, respectively.
