SAPP irrelevant, but Jeffrey's Star is a player
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ANALYSIS
The call for a two-party system in Malaysia saw a response in Sabah,
with voters largely concentrating either on the BN or Pakatan Rakyat,
causing local parties to lose their deposits in many seats.
Despite its solid party machinery, especially in the urban areas, SAPP, and its president Yong Teck Lee as well, were made irrelevant in Sabah following defeats in all seats contested.
Yong,
who battled in his traditional seat of Likas, lost to DAP rising star
Junz Lee. However, more significant was the fact that Yong came second
last in the four-cornered race, with only 13 percent of votes.
Melanie Chia, whose performance as an opposition backbencher for SAPP in Luyang is well-respected, also performed badly, falling behind MCA's political newbie Agnes Shim in the contest won by the DAP.
It is important to note that these are state assembly seats, and SAPP's defeat here shows that urban Sabahans are not keen on the 'Sabah for Sabahans' message, even at state level.
Nevertheless, Jeffrey Kitingan-led Star is proving that there is some traction for that message in the interiors, particularly among the Kadazadusun Murut voters.
Jeffrey's message sits on the radical end of the spectrum, as far as discourse for the future of Sabah is concerned, and his solid victory in the state seat of Bingkor shows that it is palatable to rural voters.
He
could have also won the Keningau seat, beating his brother Joseph
Pairin Kitingan (BN), had not the fight been three-cornered with PKR as
well. Non-BN votes totalled 19,725 against BN's 15, 818.
Jeffrey won strong support from the more rural parts of Keningau - which is larger than Malacca, Penang and Perlis combined - but lost the Chinese votes concentrated in Keningau town, which went to PKR.
Multi-cornered fights helped BN win
Despite only being able to send one man to the state assembly, Star cannot be dismissed in Sabah's crowded political sphere, as it was Star that caused PKR to lose several seats.
This includes the parliamentary seat of Kota Marudu, won by PBS deputy president Maximus Ongkili. Maximus polled 15,168, close to 2,000 votes less than PKR's and Star's votes combined.
This situation was also the product of SAPP, Star and Pakatan contesting against one another and thereby handing victory over to the BN in several areas with a significant Kadazandusun Murut population.
These included the parliamentary seat of Tenom (BN 9,771 votes, non-BN 10,523) and state seats of Melalap (BN 4,673, non-BN 4,960) and Kundasang (BN 4,206, Non-BN 5,915).
In all cases, the Pakatan candidates polled the highest votes among the non-BN candidates. The local parties drew away several thousand votes each, making a strong case for Pakatan to consider cooperation with the local parties in any future election.
Despite its solid party machinery, especially in the urban areas, SAPP, and its president Yong Teck Lee as well, were made irrelevant in Sabah following defeats in all seats contested.
Yong,
who battled in his traditional seat of Likas, lost to DAP rising star
Junz Lee. However, more significant was the fact that Yong came second
last in the four-cornered race, with only 13 percent of votes.Melanie Chia, whose performance as an opposition backbencher for SAPP in Luyang is well-respected, also performed badly, falling behind MCA's political newbie Agnes Shim in the contest won by the DAP.
It is important to note that these are state assembly seats, and SAPP's defeat here shows that urban Sabahans are not keen on the 'Sabah for Sabahans' message, even at state level.
Nevertheless, Jeffrey Kitingan-led Star is proving that there is some traction for that message in the interiors, particularly among the Kadazadusun Murut voters.
Jeffrey's message sits on the radical end of the spectrum, as far as discourse for the future of Sabah is concerned, and his solid victory in the state seat of Bingkor shows that it is palatable to rural voters.
He
could have also won the Keningau seat, beating his brother Joseph
Pairin Kitingan (BN), had not the fight been three-cornered with PKR as
well. Non-BN votes totalled 19,725 against BN's 15, 818.Jeffrey won strong support from the more rural parts of Keningau - which is larger than Malacca, Penang and Perlis combined - but lost the Chinese votes concentrated in Keningau town, which went to PKR.
Multi-cornered fights helped BN win
Despite only being able to send one man to the state assembly, Star cannot be dismissed in Sabah's crowded political sphere, as it was Star that caused PKR to lose several seats.
This includes the parliamentary seat of Kota Marudu, won by PBS deputy president Maximus Ongkili. Maximus polled 15,168, close to 2,000 votes less than PKR's and Star's votes combined.
This situation was also the product of SAPP, Star and Pakatan contesting against one another and thereby handing victory over to the BN in several areas with a significant Kadazandusun Murut population.
These included the parliamentary seat of Tenom (BN 9,771 votes, non-BN 10,523) and state seats of Melalap (BN 4,673, non-BN 4,960) and Kundasang (BN 4,206, Non-BN 5,915).
In all cases, the Pakatan candidates polled the highest votes among the non-BN candidates. The local parties drew away several thousand votes each, making a strong case for Pakatan to consider cooperation with the local parties in any future election.
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