SABAH’S CROWDED STATE POLLS: A CELEBRATION OF DEMOCRACY OR POLITICAL CONFUSION?

By FADZLI RAMLI

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Based on the Nov 15 nomination for the 17th Sabah State Election, a total of 596 candidates will be vying for the 73 State Legislative Assembly seats, compared to 447 candidates during the 16th state polls in 2020.

This phenomenon has had a major impact, with the 14-cornered fight for the Tulid seat the highest recorded; followed by the 13-cornered contests in Bandau, Tamparuli, Inanam and Kapayan; 12-cornered tussle in Banggi and Moyog; and four-cornered fight in Senallang and Merotai.

While this situation, theoratically, shows that democracy is celebrated, it also raises questions as to whether this is due to the political uncertainty in Sabah, which is known for its own political dynamics.

The chief executive officer of the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) of Sabah, Assoc Prof Datuk Dr Ramzah Dambul, said that while the sharp increase in the number of candidates reflected the openness of the state’s democracy system, it also brought its own challenges.

“Theoratically, many candidates means the people have more choices and this is a feature of a healthy democracy. However, we must also realise that too many candidates can also cause votes to be split and confuse voters,” he told Bernama.

He said that this phenomenon also showed the level of dissatisfaction with the existing political parties, thus prompting many individuals to stand as independent candidates or represent smaller parties.

Ramzah said this year’s Sabah polls will see the participation of 24 political parties and 74 independent candidates, including independent candidates who have joined the Black Wave movement that carries their own  political agenda.

“The participation of these independent candidates and small parties show that the people want new alternatives. However, from a political engineering perspective, it can cause the reform votes to be split, thus benefiting the ruling party,” he explained.

He compared this situation to the 2021 Sarawak state polls, which only saw 349 candidates vying for the 82 state seats, averaging 4.3 candidates per seat, whereas Sabah’s average is 8.2 candidates per seat.

He said that during the 2020 Sabah state election, 275 of the 447 candidates, or about 62 per cent, lost their deposits, which proved that many candidates did not have strong support on the field but still wanted to contest under the pretext of ‘celebrating democracy’.

“These statistics show that not all those contesting stand an actual chance of winning. They may contest based on idealism or to just test their popularity,” he said.

Ramzah hopes that after the 17th Sabah state election, all parties can accept the people’s decision with maturity. The winning party must focus on the state’s development, while those who lose must continue to play their role as a constructive opposition.

“Democracy is not merely about contesting and winning. It is about how we respect the process, accept the people’s decision and work together for the advancement of Sabah,” he said.

Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Noor Yazid, the Borneo International and Political Relations Cluster researcher at the Borneo Institute for Indigenous Studies (BorIIS), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), said the fact that so many are contesting the state polls this time raises questions about political stability in the state.

“Is this a healthy democratic practice or is the management of political parties too lax? Some say in the media that this is a healthy democratic practice because it allows open competition, but my question now is whether this is due to weak political parties and instability.

“Only two seats have four-cornered fights, while some have up to 14-cornered contests - candidates will have a headache choosing their candidates and need to do very careful research to make the right choice. In my opinion, many people do not fully understand the principles of democracy and do not comprehend the true value of their votes,” he said.

Mohd Noor said that multi-cornered contests do not actually reflect political maturity, such as in developed countries like the United States. In fact, in Peninsular Malaysia, such multi-cornered fights have become rare.

He said this situation will cause fragmented voting patterns and does not help in choosing the right candidates to represent the constituencies involved. So, there will be situations where the winning candidate was chosen not because he or she is the best, but rather due to vote splitting.

“Ultimately, this produces poor-quality elected representatives, which can result in no outright victory to form the state government that is needed,” he said, adding that the state polls in 2018 should serve as a reminder to avoid the same thing happening again in this state election.

He said the 2018 polls saw Barisan Nasional and the coalition headed by Parti Warisan each winning 29 state seats, and two more won by Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku, resulting in no party gaining a majority.

“That led to the state having two Chief Ministers. This was due to the shift in support among state assemblymen between the two leaderships. No party had a majority - that’s what caused all the chaos.

“Will this situation repeat itself in this year’s polls? We hope not, but in this situation we have to think because Sabah politics are very complex and unpredictable,” he said.

Polling is scheduled for Nov 29, with early voting on Nov 25.

For the latest news on the state election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/sabah/index.php.

-- BERNAMA