Going Against the Tide: Sabah and the 2008 Malaysian General Election

Many would argue that the main factors in Pakatan Harapan's victory were the 1MDB scandal, anti-Najib and anti-UMNO sentiments, and Mahathir's ability to penetrate the rural Malay constituencies so as to split the UMNO/PAS vote. In the East Malaysia states of Sabah and Sarawak, however, it was local factors and state nationalism that largely decided the outcome of GE14. In this article, I will argue that the rise of state nationalism means that the most potent political issue in contemporary East Malaysia is MA63 – or the 1963 Malaysia Agreement. MA63 gives Sabah and Sarawak autonomy in a wide range of areas. For the past half-century, the East Malaysia polity has felt that it has lost its autonomy in many areas stipulated in the MA63 agreement, due to the centralisation of bureaucratic powers by the federal government. This has created a strong sense of historical grievance among Sabahans and Sarawakians, especially the non-Muslim native communities. The MA63 issue combined with local factors such as the selection of candidates and internal party disputes as well as sabotage together better reflect the on-the-ground experience of GE14 in Sabah and Sarawak.

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What Issues Matter to Local Voters, and Why?: Electoral Politics in Ranau, Sabah

Puyok¹

2018

JBK

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This research was an attempt to gauge the electorates‘ opinion on key electoral issues in Ranau, Sabah. It involved 712 respondents from the state constituencies of Kundasang, Paginatan and Karanaan. A survey questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale was distributed to the respondents. The respondents were asked on electoral issues ranging from primordial sentiments, personality politics, patronage politics, regional sentiments, development, economy and governance. The research theoretical framework is based on the sociological, psychological, and economic models of voting behaviour. The research found that race and religious considerations have less influence on the people’s voting decisions and are unlikely to feature prominently in the upcoming elections. However, electoral issues based on regional sentiments related to Sabah’s state of affairs remain very popular among the respondents. The politics of personality formed on the basis of patrimonial, cultural and patronage ties is also evident, suggesting that the role of the candidate is more important than the role of the party in influencing people’s voting decisions. The ruling government is viewed less favourably on the issue of governance and economy, indicating that local and national issues are equally important in shaping Ranau’s, and Sabah’s political landscape.

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Going Against the Tide: Sabah and the 2008 Malaysian General Election

Cited by 5 publications

References 16 publications

Sabah: breakthrough in the fixed deposit state

Sabah: breakthrough in the fixed deposit state

Sabah and Sarawak in the 14th General Election 2018 (GE14): Local Factors and State Nationalism

What Issues Matter to Local Voters, and Why?: Electoral Politics in Ranau, Sabah

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