Sabah voters shunned ‘MCA-type’ DAP, says activist

Sabah voters shunned ‘MCA-type’ DAP, says activist

PETALING JAYA: An activist attributed Sabah DAP’s wipeout at yesterday’s state election – the party lost all eight seats it contested – to discontent among Chinese voters over the party’s decline.

In claiming he was not surprised by the trouncing DAP received, Johan Ariffin Samad said voters, including non-Chinese, have become disappointed that DAP, a party once perceived to be fearless and outspoken, has become “muted”.

“DAP was very straightforward, but now they’re regarded as an MCA-type party after becoming part of the government.

“They have become muted in many aspects. So that is why people are fed up with them,” he told FMT.

He added that the unhappiness among the Chinese with regard to economic issues is among the reasons for the community to shun DAP.

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“They feel like they’re being unfairly treated and in all aspects, including the economy. It is tough for them, especially those running their own business.”

Johan’s take on DAP’s dismal outing lends credence to Sabah DAP chairman Phoong Jin Zhe’s remarks last night, in which the latter said the outcome clearly showed that voters were frustrated with the party.

Meanwhile, analysts James Chin and Awang Azman Awang Pawi expressed their shock at Pakatan Harapan’s underperformance, winning only one of 22 seats it contested, which revealed they are losing ground in urban seats.

Chin, of the University of Tasmania, pointed out that anti-federal sentiments were clearly evident here, as Sabahans were incensed by the PH-led government’s failure to explain why it decided to appeal against the purported “defects” in the Kota Kinabalu High Court’s ruling on the 40% state revenue case.

“Although the federal government said that they are not appealing (the 40% formula) and that they are only appealing against the “language” (in the ruling), people didn’t buy the argument. That really caused them a lot of trouble,” he said when contacted.

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Chin also shared that there was unhappiness among the Chinese voters with the fact that Sabah DAP leaders who are also MPs contested for state seats – a move he described as “greedy”.

“I think the biggest problem was that (DAP) could not explain to Sabahans what their contribution was to the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-led government. People did not buy the argument that DAP can represent the Sabahan Chinese when it is a peninsular Malaysian party.’

Meanwhile, Awang Azmi said that DAP’s defeat was not that surprising, as there have been early signs of a rising “Sabah for Sabahans” sentiment since 2020, and DAP was seen as the federal party that “calls the shots” in Sabah’s political affairs.

“PH was the biggest casualty of this sentiment,” he told FMT.

“Although both Barisan Nasional and GRS are also national parties or federally backed, they have successfully built the “local narrative” through the leadership of Hajiji Noor and Bung Moktar Radin.

Hajiji is the GRS chairman, while Bung is the Sabah BN chairman.

“Meanwhile, PH was seen as a party without strong Sabahan leaders to the point where they had to go with Yamani Hafez Musa, Ruji Ubi and Jamawi Jaafar, who were brought from outside the party,” he said, referring to the trio’s previous party affiliations prior to joining PKR.

While Yamani and Jamawi were originally from Bersatu and GRS, respectively, Ruji was a former secretary-general of the education ministry who joined PKR in late September.