Is the Sabah state election a bellwether for Malaysian politics? PM Muhyiddin certainly thinks so

The prime minister says he will call a general election if his Perikatan Nasional coalition and its allies win the September 26 vote

But the opposition is banking on current chief minister Shafie Apdal and his unity-driven campaign, which has resonated with younger voters

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Sabah chief minister Shafie Apdal during a July press conference in the state capital Kota Kinabalu. Photo: AP

Published: 1:00pm, 20 Sep 2020Updated: 1:02am, 18 Dec 2020

THIS week’s polls in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah could decide whether a general election should be called to shore up support for the ruling Perikatan Nasional government, according to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

“If we win in Sabah, we will hurry up and have the general election. I know what the media will write but let them speculate,” the premier was quoted as saying on Friday, as he and other government heavyweights descended on the state to aid the final leg of hustings.

“The signal must be given by Sabahans that ‘we support Perikatan Nasional, we want Muhyiddin to continue to be prime minister’,” he told supporters, according to Malaysiakini.

But going by the chatter surrounding the ongoing campaign, the September 26 vote is turning out to be more of a referendum on the local government – headed by charismatic chief minister Shafie Apdal – than Muhyiddin’s seven-month-old federal administration.

A total of 447 candidates from 15 parties will contest 73 state assembly seats in Sabah, the vast state on the island of Borneo that is home to some of Malaysia’s most pristine beaches and jungles.

Shafie – who leads Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan), which has governed since 2018 – has run on a strong message of unity, urging Sabahans to push back against party-hopping and racial rhetoric just weeks after the state government was dissolved following a slew of political defections.