Malaysiakini : How can public trust be rebuilt when those who allowed billions to be siphoned into private accounts remain in positions of authority? Neither can we trust a government that tolerates pardons, house arrests and discounts for jail sentences and fines, for the most serious crime involving a PM in Malaysia?

Didn't Anwar campaign on a promise for reform and on an anti-corruption drive? His coalition must not only prosecute wrongdoing but also preemptively clean the house.

Cabinet members who were part of Najib’s administration and complicit in abuse of power should step down or be removed.

This is not about vengeance. It is about restoring institutional integrity, reinforcing civic trust, and demonstrating that ethical governance cannot coexist with figures who have historically tolerated corruption.

A Netflix drama

For years, Malaysians watched a story so improbable it belonged on a Netflix set: billions of ringgit allegedly “donated” by a distant Arab monarch, landing directly in a former prime minister’s personal accounts.

We, the rakyat, knew it was a lie. International observers knew it too. Yet, for years, the narrative persisted, repeated by those who should have safeguarded transparency and accountability.

The High Court's declaration that the Arab donation letters were forgeries is not really a revelation, but is more of a validation of what the public had long known.

Malaysians are not stupid. We know that fantasy cannot be a substitute for governance.

The verdict should be a clarion call, not just about the past, but about the present structure of power. Malaysians will remember that when Najib’s deputy and a former attorney-general were swiftly removed for “misconduct”, the message then was clear: accountability matters.

However, today, the coalition includes former cabinet members who were complicit in Najib’s abuses.

The absurdity of the Arab donation narrative was not limited to Najib himself. It was amplified by a network of allies, bureaucrats, and political operatives who allowed the story to persist unchecked.

Systems failed because structural oversight failed. Courts ultimately vindicated common sense, but at what cost? Millions were spent on trials that should have been straightforward; years of public attention were consumed by a narrative that never deserved it.

That the coalition government continues to house individuals who either facilitated or ignored these abuses only prolongs the shadow of complicity.

The harm done was not only financial. It was political and institutional. It weakened public trust, muddied civic expectations, and emboldened a culture whereby power protected power.

Now that the courts have spoken, public focus rightly shifts from the conviction of one individual to the structures that let such abuses take root.

Restoring credibility

To restore credibility, Anwar must act decisively. Former Umno-Baru figures who served under Najib, and who tolerated or benefited from misappropriation of public funds, cannot remain in office without calling into question the government’s ethical foundation.

Political expedience and coalition-building are insufficient excuses when the nation’s civic conscience and institutional legitimacy are at stake. The public must see that governance is not negotiable, that integrity is non-transferable, and that complicity carries consequences.

If the coalition government wishes to reclaim legitimacy, it must remove those who contributed to or ignored systemic abuse.

Swift removal of a deputy and AG demonstrated the precedent; the same standard must now apply across the cabinet. Only then can Malaysians have confidence that the government acts in the service of the public, rather than perpetuating old compromises.

The Arab donation farce extends beyond Najib himself. Family members and associates who benefited from ill-got gains, such as Rosmah Mansor and Riza Aziz, represent a broader question of accountability.

The lesson is ongoing: governance cannot rely on fantasy. Malaysians knew the lie, so now the system should act truthfully.

The coalition government must signal that benefiting from corruption carries consequences, reinforcing a culture where no one, neither political allies, family, nor enablers, is above systemic accountability.

We know that coalition governments require negotiation and compromise, but if Malaysia’s political leadership wants to convey credible reform and institutional renewal, then maintaining a cabinet heavily populated by figures tied to the pre‑2018 political establishment sends the wrong signal.

The call to action is unmistakable: Anwar must clean house, not out of spite, but to restore faith in governance, to strengthen institutions, and to signal to all Malaysians that no one is beyond accountability.

Already this year a stolen gun and ammo were found stashed in a flower pot at the children’s section of the Strasbourg Christmas market. The weapon may have been cached to avoid the ‘bag checks’ that have become commonplace there and at European festivals and events.

New Year’s Eve at the Champs-Élysées, which was already utilizing bag checks and pat-downs to screen for not only weapons but any alcohol, glass bottles and anything that could be used as a weapon, was canceled because the authorities and the police could not assure the safety of the celebrants in the most iconic spot in all of France. The place where General DeGaulle had once walked down to celebrate France’s liberation has fallen under Islamic occupation.

France recently marked the 10th anniversary of the 2015 Paris attacks during which Islamic terrorists tried to blow up a soccer stadium, massacred people in the Bataclan theater and attacked local cafes in an orgy of bloodshed killing 130 people and wounding over 400 more.

“Unfortunately, no one can guarantee the end of attacks,” President Macron warned at the commemoration of one of the deadliest days for Islamic Jihad in Europe since the original Ottoman invasions, but claimed that 85 attacks had been prevented including 6 in 2025.

(That count is probably up to 7 since yet another terror plot was broken up in December.)

Muslims marked the anniversary in their own fashion when the girlfriend of one of the imprisoned Islamic terrorists, a French woman who had converted to Islam, was arrested for her own terrorist plot along with her current husband and an unknown teenager.

Another three women had been arrested a few months earlier for planning their tribute to the Bataclan theater attack by bombing a concert hall or a bar. One of the women had been preaching Jihad to her 20,000 followers on TikTok. These should not be confused with the previous plot by three Muslim women to set off a bomb outside the Notre Dame cathedral.

The Bataclan attacks were not the only 10 year anniversary being marked in France.

In response to the latest Muslim terrorist threat to Christmas, France is once again calling in the troops and Interior Minister Nunez urged “the military personnel of Operation Sentinelle, to ensure a ‘visible and deterrent presence.’” Operation Sentinelle was launched in 2015 after the Muslim terrorist attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and a Kosher supermarket in which 17 people were killed by a conspiracy of 14 Muslims operating inside and outside France.

The 7,000 soldiers of Operation Sentinelle (which can be increased by another 3,000 soldiers around Christmas or during other times of significant Islamic terrorist threats) have been permanently deployed across France to protect “places of worship and sensitive sites.”

The deployment, originally meant to be short term, has become open ended. The French Ministry of Defense quotes that “our commitment is long-term, for as long as this situation requires.” Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin echoed the message, “the terrorist threat is permanent.” Macron had already admitted this is a war with no end in sight.

Shortly after the Bataclan anniversary, Macron announced that France was bringing back voluntary conscription starting with 3,000 in 2026 and going up to 50,000 by 2035. “We need to mobilise, mobilising the nation to defend itself,” he argued. Officially this is about countering Russia, but if so the mobilization would be far more rapid and much more immediate.

France is preparing for a war at home.

National anti-terror prosecutor Olivier Christen warned that Islamic terrorism remains “the most significant, both in scale and in the level of operational readiness”.

Meanwhile the French government is grappling with Islamization.

After announcing 820 Islamization ‘separatist’ offenses against France’s official  ‘secularism’ policy, Interior Minister Nunez warned that the next step was battling Islamic infiltration.

“We’ve dealt with terrorism, we’ve dealt with separatism, now we’re tackling infiltration,” Nunez warned, and looking into “the links between representatives of political movements and organizations and networks supporting terrorist activity or propagating Islamist ideology.”

“It is important to provide a clear, concise, and precise response to those who might suggest that Sharia law could be applied in France.”

These are praiseworthy policies at a time when the politicians of the United Kingdom and the United States have mostly surrendered to Islamization and hail it as a wonderful thing, but the soldiers in the streets, the cancellation of New Year’s Eve at the Champs-Élysées and the drumbeat of terrorist plots also show that fighting Islam as an ideology is not enough without dealing with the demographic problems of mass migration and domestic colonization.

81 years after De Gaulle walked along the Champs-Élysées to Notre Dame to mark the liberation of Paris, the city, including the Champs-Élysées, is under enemy occupation again.

It will take another liberation to end the ‘no-go-zones’ and set Paris free or the city will fall.

Malaysiakini : Why should anyone show respect to an individual who caused over RM40 billion of taxpayers’ money to disappear?

But what is disrespectful about celebrating judicial independence and the rule of law? Do we really want to return to the bad old days when judicial integrity was questioned?

Remember the Adorna Properties and Ayer Molek cases, or photographs of a former chief justice holidaying with a lawyer? Or the “correct, correct” correct” video clip of lawyer VK Lingam speaking to a High Court judge?

Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh has gone further, fanning racial sentiments and implying political machinations behind the court ruling.

He pointed to royal decrees, claiming inconsistency: “When they wanted to form the government, the Agong’s decree (for a unity government) was used as the main reason. But today, the decree (granting Najib house arrest) was said not to be valid. The people can evaluate.”

Najib’s lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, argued that the ruling diminished the powers of the Malay rulers.

Clear ruling

But Loke was clear: Sultan Abdullah’s supplementary decree was invalid because it bypassed constitutional procedures under Article 42, which requires consultation with the Pardons Board. Clemency is a royal prerogative, yes - but one bound by the Constitution.

​The judge’s ruling safeguards and protects the integrity and wisdom of the monarchy from being leveraged as a tool for political manoeuvring.

The decision ensures that constitutional processes remain insulated from political manipulation.

If Yeo’s mild post drew such outrage, critics must have ignored or chosen to ignore Tony Pua’s far harsher words.

He wrote: “The court decided that there is no basis for house arrest for the biggest crook in Malaysia. The DAP is proud; I am proud of the fact that we played a big part in the kleptocrat's downfall and stay in prison.

“He should be thankful he already received a massive 'discount' on his penalty and jail sentence …. There is absolutely no need to sympathise with such a crook.

“Those chastising us to have 'humanity', who continue to love the crook, no one is stopping you. But do not stop the rest of us Malaysians from celebrating justice upheld.”

Pressing for release

Umno’s leadership has long pushed the “freedom for Najib” narrative, with Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claiming Najib did not receive a fair trial.

Najib was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million in the SRC International graft case - later halved to six years and a RM50 million fine.

His wife, Rosmah Mansor, who was also convicted, urged Umno members to continue pressing for his release.

But making contributions does not include helping yourself to taxpayers’ money, for which he is being punished.

Najib’s son even likened his father’s imprisonment to Nelson Mandela’s struggle. The comparison is absurd. Mandela fought apartheid and inspired generations to resist oppression. Najib plundered the nation’s wealth.

Internationally, Najib was branded “kleptocracy at its worst” by former US attorney-general Jeff Sessions, “a brazen kleptocrat” by The Economist, and at home, a “national embarrassment” by the Court of Appeal.

So how could anyone fault right-thinking Malaysians for celebrating a judgment that reaffirmed constitutional safeguards and rejected attempts to grant clemency for one man, who has yet to express remorse or admit his mistakes?

Malaysiakini : Keeping people in their place

There is nothing complex about the way the state is persecuting Fahmi. The latest case boils down to the fact that the state does not like him reminding the rakyat that a cat can look at a king or a prince in this case.

Every day, Madani reminds us that we have to be mindful of the questions we ask about the state. The police tell us not to speculate on ongoing cases. Politicians tell us not to question policies based on ethnocentric formulas.

The media is muzzled by self-censorship. Social media is policed in a way where those supporting the state are coddled, and dissenting voices are singled out for state punitive action.

Fahmi has his detractors, but as far as my research goes, never once has he asked for his critics to be silenced.

He is not an anarchist in the traditional ideological sense. Indeed, from all his social media posts, he seems more interested in reminding people in power that the system is there for the betterment of the rakyat and hence policies should reflect this.

Remember that Fahmi was once called in by the state security apparatus because he edited an image of the Pahang coat of arms and turned it into the “House of Balak” to protest deforestation in response to the floods in Pahang and Selangor.

Baulking at dissent

Why does Madani fear someone like him? The state can overlook and probably even withstand long cogent arguments about its corruption and failings, but it cannot stand folk sniggering at drawings of their antics.

Why? Because they have not earned the stature and respect they demand. Denizens of Madani claim that it is not their failure to reform, but their messaging, which is why people are down on them.

Fahmi’s visual disturbances, however, remind the rakyat that their messaging was always empty and that the system they are in charge of is failing the rakyat.

The activist did a great interview with Vice when he was persecuted by the state for creating a playlist that was insulting to the queen in the “Dengki ke” (Are you jealous?) fiasco.

The sedition case was dropped, but that was about optics, as it looked like the royal establishment was going after Fahmi when the queen's comment caused dismay for the rakyat who were going through hard times without the privilege of experiencing the Covid-19 lockdown in luxury.

This is the power that Fahmi wields, and the state desperately wants to curtail.

People remember his work against Umno/BN simply because they were the bigger, more convenient target, but others are not spared.

“When it comes to Malaysian politics, I’ve always held on to the belief that you cannot trust politicians in general on all sides.

“(My art) doesn’t just feature ruling party politicians from the government. Even opposition figures get lampooned,” he told Vice.

And now Madani is the government.

Crackdown coming

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently said that in the coming year, his administration will crack down on sensitive and controversial issues.

“Look at the issues of race, language, and the economy - we must face them with firmer action. We cannot simply play with racial or religious sentiments to the point that it ultimately hinders the nation's progress," he said.

Do you think Fahmi’s work will escape this crackdown, or will it be under even more scrutiny? The reality is that Fahmi is a Malay saying and doing things which expose the moral, legal and intellectual bankruptcy of the Malay establishment and its non-Malay enablers.

What we are witnessing is someone openly slaying sacred cows through jokes and satire, and the state predictably proving everything Fahmi says about it by continuously harassing him.

We live in a country where factotums of the state decide that Christmas decorations are somehow an affront to the religion of the state.

We live in a country where certain people are banned from using certain words.

We live in a country where affirmative action for the majority cannot be challenged, even though the prime minister campaigned on a needs-based platform.

Fahmi reminds the rakyat not to be punchlines of the twisted policy jokes of the elites and those in power.

Malaysiakini : Orang Asli, original inhabitants

Citing an example, Ranjit said mainstream history books virtually do not mention the contributions of the Orang Asli community, who are the original inhabitants of the country.

“They (Orang Asli) have virtually disappeared (from our history textbooks),” he lamented.

Citing an example, he said that secondary school history books (2016 to 2020 editions) have no mention of the Orang Asli community except for the Senoi Praaq, which is an Orang Asli police unit set up by the British colonial administration to combat communists.

Ranjit reiterated that while Orang Asli are the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia, the Malays are “definitive people” of the land, who, across centuries, have shaped West Malaysia’s political, cultural, and civilisational identity.

However, he did not mince his words when criticising ethno-nationalists, accusing them of “weaponising history” to portray Malaysia as belonging to a single ethnic group, often by framing others as “pendatang” (immigrants) in an attempt to deny their ancestors’ contribution to nation-building.

And this is where, he added, his book would come in handy, “restoring marginalised voices” by documenting the historical presence and contributions of communities that have faded from mainstream accounts of nation-building.

Welcome constructive dialogue

Beyond correcting biased historical accounts, Ranjit said that his book is also intended as an invitation to dialogue, particularly among Malaysians who disagree with his views.

Asked about how he plans to deal with right-wing groups and ethno-nationalists who may disagree with his book, he said he would love to hear their rebuttals as long as they are based on facts during several roadshows he plans to organise in the coming months.

“I want people to debate with me. Not on vague claims, but based on sources and facts,” he stated, adding that confronting distorted readings of the past is not merely an academic exercise but a necessary step towards national unity and progress.

“How do we make our nation united, progressive, and in line with the Rukun Negara? How do we move forward as a nation? That’s the purpose of this book.

“Everybody played a role in forging this country called Malaysia,” he stressed.

Sense of belonging

However, the seasoned historian pointed out that history is not only about facts and dates, rather it also gives people a sense of place and belonging to their country.

That sense of belonging, Ranjit added, is something Malaysia urgently needs to restore.

“I belong to this nation. My ancestors, forefathers, also contributed to this nation,” he added.

He warned that failing to understand the past leaves the country vulnerable to repeating the same mistakes made by its ancestors.

On that note, Ranjit said that the country desperately needs leaders who view Malaysians as “Bangsa Malaysia” (Malaysian race), rather than through a narrow ethnic lens.

He emphasised that the nation’s progress banks on the willingness of the people to move beyond race-based politics and embrace a broader national identity.

“We need a new breed of politicians who look at Malaysians as Bangsa Malaysia… those who have the superordinate goal of making this a truly united, meritocratic, and progressive nation.

“Malaysia badly needs politicians of that mould, of that calibre. Who serve, truly serve the people,” he said.

The book, which took Ranjit five years of research and writing, spans 456 pages and includes over 250 high-quality historical photographs, and will be translated into Malay next year.

Printed in a hardcover edition with ivory pages, it is set to reach readers at an early bird price until the end of December, making it accessible to readers who are keen to explore Malaysia’s history.

Priced at RM100 for early birds, those interested can reach out to the author at ranjit@tqm.com.my.

Malaysiakini : Sabah for Sabahans

Wong Fook Lim, 65, a retired Penampang resident who now works as a Grab driver, said DAP was increasingly viewed as detached from Sabah-based decision-making.

“If something happens in Sabah, they still have to ask their bosses in Kuala Lumpur,” he said. “They are not local.”

Wong said the sentiment was also influenced by the growing “Sabah for Sabahans” call along the state’s west coast, but stressed it was not racial in nature.

“This is not about Chinese or Malay leaders,” he said. “It’s about whether leaders work for the people. No doubt some DAP leaders are hardworking, but the problem is they can’t make decisions on their own as they rely on their federal counterparts.”

Such sentiments may explain why DAP lost all its Sabah state seats to Warisan.

For Chan, however, Warisan emerged as the main beneficiary in urban seats not because of strong confidence, but because it was seen as the only viable alternative capable of unseating DAP.

E-invoicing and potholes

Another group of voters also voiced displeasure with DAP over governance issues.

“People are unhappy with the current situation. And when people are unhappy, they blame the government - and DAP is the government,” said 35-year-old Rebecca Chong.

The Sandakan resident cited water supply disruptions, electricity reliability, and business-related policies as factors that had steadily eroded confidence.

“E-invoicing is also making people very angry. Anything that makes business harder, people will complain,” she said.

Business owners in Sabah have said the rollout of e-invoicing, a federal initiative, risks adding costs, compliance burdens, and cash-flow delays, particularly for small firms and importers who must reconcile real-time digital invoices with customs paperwork, foreign suppliers, patchy internet access, and legacy accounting systems.

Michael Yong, 38, from Kota Kinabalu, said disappointment with DAP had extended even to basic municipal issues.

He complained that even simple problems, such as potholes, were left unresolved for years.

“Even the basics DAP has failed to resolve (when they were part of government), such as potholes in the city, damaged streetlights, or roadside barricades that could take years before it is being fixed. Come on, Kota Kinabalu is a city!

“They have lost it. The current leaders in DAP are no longer the hardworking DAP politicians we knew several elections ago when they were still in the opposition,” he added.

Yong said veteran DAP leaders were more effective when the party was in opposition.

“The old ones, even the slightest amenity problems like this, are serious when it comes to calling the government to fix them.

“They were in the opposition before and more effective, but all that went down the drain when they became part of the government,” said Yong.

People want to see results

Following its defeat in the Sabah election, DAP has set for itself a six-month timeline to enact reforms - including on issues such as United Examination Certificate (UEC) recognition - in an effort to win back support from voters.

However, Chong said that just making noise about pushing for reforms will not be enough.

“Whether that reform push will really make a difference and win back the support of Sabah’s Chinese voters is hard to say, because people now just want to see results,” she said.

Many of the voters Malaysiakini spoke to said they were adopting a wait-and-see approach, and did not rule out supporting DAP again if the party reasserts its independence, strengthens its Sabah leadership, and distances itself from federal political manoeuvring.

“We will have to see how they perform now,” Chan said.

Malaysiakini : Let us say that Rafizi has got the figures right when it comes to who exactly is affected by the UEC. The question is, is this the hill DAP wants to die on?

But here is the thing, DAP knows that this isn’t really about the UEC. This is all performative and also good old-fashioned race-baiting politics. DAP gets to play champion of the Chinese community, and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also gets to play champion of the Malay community.

Meanwhile, both communities continue to decline under the weight of a corrupt system.

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READ MORE: UEC: Are the criticisms justified?

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Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) president Larry Sng pointed out that the UEC could be recognised on a state level first, which basically means that if this was such an important issue and something that DAP supremo Anthony Loke was apparently willing to resign for, then Pakatan Harapan-led states could have normalised the UEC by doing so.

Why do you think DAP has not done this? After all, nearly every Malay uber alles party has at one time or another been ready to support the UEC to get Chinese votes.

The reason is simple, it is because DAP really does not place a high priority on this issue.

Malay rights weaponised

What about Mr Madani? Why does he babble on about the primacy of the Malay language?

Over a decade ago, Anwar said this of politicians who proudly display the religious flag.

“In Malaysia, such posturing by Muslim leaders has much more to do with politics than religion and ideology.

“The ruling government hopes that by taking a hard line, it will curry some favour with an increasingly radical right wing upon which its party is increasingly based,” he said in an interview with CNN.

I do not know if those words were prophetic, but the underlying cause for the religious turmoil was not the hate speech of rabble-rousing politicians but rather the policies of Madani.

Malay rights have been weaponised to the point that the Madani regime would rather not carry out any utilitarian policies that would benefit everyone, especially the Malays, for fear of the opposition claiming that Malay/Muslim rights are being sidelined because of DAP.

Compromised institutions

One of the biggest issues right now is the compromised and frankly inept state security apparatus, including the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the MACC and of course the police.

The recent alleged extrajudicial killings, the numerous deaths in custody and the fact that the men in blue think they are the moral police point to a dysfunction that happens after decades of political neglect and zero accountability and transparency.

This is a far more important issue than the tried and tested UEC issue. If DAP was seriously interested in reform, it would be scrutinising every institution which contributes to the decline of the democratic guardrails in this country, which in turn affects the economic security of the rakyat.

Look at what Anwar said in 2010 about the importance of institutions, especially when combating right-wing theocratic impulses.

“The antidote for this behaviour is to restore credibility to the institutions of civil society.

“The media should be free, politicians must be held accountable through free and fair elections, and the judiciary must be able to operate without interference from politicians,” he said in the CNN interview.

Meanwhile, DAP remains silent when all these big-shot political operatives get off scot free under Madani when it comes to their corrupt acts.

You can see Anwar’s hypocrisy when he said this 15 years ago.

"We need to revisit the design of economic policy and how the country allocates welfare and resources. Affirmative action remains essential to ensure that the poor and marginalised are not forgotten.

"But there is no reason to exclude poor Chinese and Indians from the policy, as has been the case for so long. Endemic corruption has enriched a few well-connected businesspersons and politicians, but the vast majority of their wealth never trickles down,” he said in the same CNN interview.

What we get under the Madani regime, as far as political stability is concerned, are institutions that appear to be weaponised, enabling the religious bureaucracy, turning a blind eye to the corruption scandals-laden personalities that form this coalition government, coddling religious and racial agitators within the regime, and, of course, a clampdown on free speech.

Reforms of state institutions that minimise corruption and deregulation, as well as minimise cronyism, are some things we can all agree with and, perhaps, the most economically viable way to sway the Malay public opinion.

Reforming such a system is what DAP should be good at, at least this is what DAP propaganda promotes.

Madani is obviously not interested in draining the swamp. It would seem neither is DAP.

Both just want to distract the rakyat while the political class pick a pocket or two.

Malaysiakini : During the campaign period, Anwar also visited Hajiji's constituency to stump for him despite the corruption scandals surrounding the chief minister, all of which Hajiji has denied. Now, Hajiji has survived the election and retained power, while his ally Harapan suffered a humiliating rout.

The election results were unequivocal: urban and Chinese voters largely abandoned Harapan. DAP was completely wiped out, and PKR also lost urban fortress seats like Api-Api, managing to win only one seat in Melalap - thanks to a candidate "borrowed" from Gagasan Rakyat Sabah before the election.

Against this backdrop, Anwar's beaming smile at his book launch naturally seemed ill-timed.

On his Facebook, one particularly cutting comment played on the book's title: “Come the next general election, I too will be ‘rethinking’.”

Similar sarcastic remarks could be found across the comment sections of various media outlets' social pages.

On Dec 2, Anwar attended a dinner banquet with government backbenchers. One attendee told Malaysiakini that he seemed "self-congratulatory", showing no signs of reflection. "He simply doesn't think he lost the election".

Reportedly, Anwar mentioned at the dinner that Chinese Malaysians were unhappy about excessive government aid to Palestine.

However, even if this discontent exists - and even though some Chinese netizens mock him as the "prime minister of Palestine" - this is hardly the only reason Chinese voters abandoned Harapan.

Simmering discontent

Pakatan Harapan won 82 seats in the 2022 general election, largely thanks to strong support from the Chinese electorate, and formed a coalition government with other parties.

Three years later, Malay support has shown no significant improvement, while discontent among Chinese and Indian communities has reached a boiling point.

Their discontent isn't about a single issue, but an accumulation of grievances: broken promises on reform and fighting corruption, policies perceived as anti-business, identity politics, and more.

The Attorney-General's Chamber's decision in May to classify the Teoh Beng Hock case as "no further action", and subsequent developments further eroded the trust of Harapan's most loyal support base.

But the deeper emotion is one of "betrayal".

Supporters have put Harapan in power twice, but now feel their support is taken for granted while the coalition obsesses over competing with Perikatan Nasional for conservative Malay votes, breeding resentment.

Harapan's Chinese base has been remarkably tolerant. When the KK Mart incident erupted in March 2024, the government's sluggish response and Umno Youth chief Akmal Saleh's political theatrics generated enormous dissatisfaction.

Yet in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election in May that year, the Chinese community rallied behind Harapan and DAP once more when PN scored an own goal after PAS leaders attacked Harapan candidate Pang Sock Tao's Chinese education background.

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READ MORE: DAP's dilemma, red lines and Kuala Kubu Baharu

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Two months later, in the Sungai Bakap by-election, the supporters' disappointment had become more evident, with PKR losing the election by more than 4,000 votes.

When Akmal led a protest at a hardware store in Penang over a flag incident in August, it proved to be the spark that ignited the Chinese and urban backlash in the Sabah election.

Anxious Harapan

In contrast to Anwar's relaxed attitude, DAP appeared deeply anxious.

For DAP, which has its roots in the Chinese community, this election was nothing short of a wake-up call. Post-election, DAP was filled with anxiety and unease, worried that the Chinese backlash in Sabah would spread to Peninsular Malaysia.

This concern isn't limited to DAP. Some PKR MPs share similar worries: if a Chinese backlash takes shape in the peninsula, not only DAP but also PKR and Amanah would suffer devastating defeats in mixed constituencies - even Anwar's own Tambun seat might not be safe.

Post-election, several PKR leaders have written articles demanding that the party address the collapse of its base.

Two days after the election, DAP's central executive committee held an emergency meeting, stating that "We have received a strong and unmistakable message from the voters. It is undeniable that this election reflects a serious crisis of confidence faced by both DAP and Pakatan Harapan".

At the same time, DAP resolved to consolidate feedback on public grievances and work with the prime minister to accelerate the reform agenda over the next six months.

During the meeting, there were also suggestions that if no reform results are seen within six months, DAP should consider leaving the government, with ministers and deputy ministers resigning to become backbenchers.

Party secretary-general Anthony Loke also confirmed that if no changes are seen during this period, DAP would review its position in the government.

While DAP has not published a reform checklist, its deputy chairperson, Nga Kor Ming, revealed this Monday that they would meet with Anwar to demand recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).

He even called out to the Chinese community, saying that as a minority of only 22 percent of the population, Chinese Malaysians need to understand the bigger picture and simply cannot afford to be divided. Otherwise, "(ex-PM Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) and PN’s PAS will be laughing at the Chinese behind their backs".

This narrative undoubtedly highlights the DAP leaders' anxieties and sounds as if they remain stuck in another era, out of step with current realities.

Other DAP leaders like Gobind Singh Deo, Lim Guan Eng, and Ramkarpal Singh have also spoken out repeatedly on several issues.

Among them, Lim publicly urged Anwar, who is also finance minister, to review the expanded scope of the sales and service tax, the e-invoice policy, corporate tax refund issues, and more.

Missing the mark

One week after the election, on Dec 6, Anwar made his first substantive response to the public backlash.

He announced that the e-invoice threshold would be raised from RM500,000 to RM1 million, and that this year's tax refund allocation would increase from RM2 billion to RM4 billion to expedite processing of SME tax refund backlogs.

PKR's central leadership committee also held a meeting on Monday to discuss the Sabah defeat and the above policy adjustments, but the statement issued afterwards was merely perfunctory, with no detailed examination of the election loss.

Over the past two weeks, Anwar's posture still gives the impression that he doesn't understand the severity of the problem.

Relaxing e-invoice requirements and expediting tax refunds are at best stop-gap measures - necessary, but far from sufficient to address long-accumulated public sentiment. If Anwar thinks he can win back Chinese votes with just this, he is missing the bigger picture.

Some Harapan leaders worry: Is Anwar living out the parable of "The Emperor's New Clothes", only listening to sycophants around him, causing his political judgment and administrative decisions to become disconnected from public sentiment?

Or worse still, does Anwar have no advisers or confidants, with decisions basically made on his personal whim alone? One theory is that no one within Harapan knows who is in Anwar's inner circle, and that even Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who previously enjoyed Anwar's trust, is no longer part of this.

The day before the election, the MACC conducted a dramatic raid and arrest of businessperson Albert Tei, which became the last straw that broke the urban voters' backs.

If the operation had the prime minister's approval, it shows a disastrous lack of political judgment. If not, it reveals the prime minister cannot control the political tempo.

Meanwhile, cabinet vacancies have remained unfilled for extended periods.

After Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad resigned mid-year, no one was appointed to fill their positions as economy minister and the natural resources and environmental sustainability minister, respectively.

Early this month, Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz stepped down as the investment, trade and industry minister when his Senate term expired, and Upko president Ewon Benedick resigned as entrepreneur and cooperatives development minister before the Sabah election.

What does this series of political and administrative missteps mean? Is it Anwar's poor judgment? Or is he surrounded by a group of people who only dare to say "the clothes look great"?

Or has Anwar become entranced by his own charm, indulging himself in a self-delusion of victory?

Danish, one of the season’s top four sprinters with 10.61s, had every reason to expect fair SEA Games consideration.

He had results, momentum and consistency. What removed him was not performance — it was pressure.

The WhatsApp messages show the coach dictating a withdrawal letter, telling the teenager exactly what to write and asking him to cite “back pain” despite no diagnosis.

Danish’s response, “Write what, coach?”, should chill anyone familiar with athlete–coach power dynamics.

It is the voice of a boy who feels he has no choice.

When athletes comply not because they trust but because they fear consequences, the system is not a talent pathway; it is a pressure chamber.

The ISN contradiction reveals a wider institutional weakness

One of the most alarming elements is how the medical system was drawn into the saga.

Danish underwent a full assessment at the National Sports Institute (ISN). The result was unequivocal: he was fit to compete.

Fit — directly contradicting the withdrawal letter he had been told to submit.

This raises a fundamental question: what happens when athletes are instructed to “act injured” before seeing ISN?

It undermines the integrity of one of Malaysia’s key high-performance institutions.

Medical appraisals must reflect reality, not the agenda of coaches seeking to sway selection.

Once medical information becomes a tool, the entire sports-science ecosystem stands compromised.

A shadow over meritocracy

That the SEA Games 4x100m spot went to a senior sprinter with slower season times is not the issue — selectors may weigh experience, past form and relay chemistry.

The issue is if that place was safeguarded by forcing a younger, faster athlete to withdraw through deceit.

That crosses the line from discretion into manipulation, a serious breach internationally.

Meritocracy cannot survive if athletes believe places are predetermined by relationships rather than performances.

And when a coach manipulates the process, he does more than rob one athlete; he weakens the country’s best possible team.

Then comes the allegation of blacklisting.

When Danish’s family heard from a third party that the coach allegedly said, “Maybe after this, Danish will be blacklisted,” it confirmed their worst fear: that refusing to comply or speaking up could end their son’s path.

Whether the remark was real, exaggerated or misheard is not the point. The point is that athletes believe blacklisting is possible.

That belief alone is a systemic red flag. When careers depend on silence, wrongdoing multiplies.

What Malaysia must do — now

Malaysia Athletics has said its disciplinary committee will investigate, but that is the wrong starting point.

This requires an independent selection review by a panel with no ties to the national body.

The wider ecosystem must also respond:

1. Suspend the coach immediately. This is not punitive; it is protective.
2. Guarantee Danish immunity from retaliation. Put it in writing — publicly.
3. Clarify ISN’s independence. Medical integrity must not be traded away.
4. Establish a real SafeSport mechanism. Athlete welfare cannot be managed by ad-hoc committees and silence.

If the WhatsApp messages are authenticated and the pressure proven, consequences should follow international precedent:

• revocation of coaching licence,
• multi-year ban,
• prohibition from working with youth athletes,
• and, if blacklisting threats are verified, a lifetime ban.

This is the standard Malaysia should uphold. It is a referendum on how seriously we take athlete welfare.

A country cannot aspire to be a sporting nation while tolerating behaviour that corrodes trust in its pathways.

Put the coach on the first flight home, and fix the sport so no Malaysian athlete ever feels this fear again.

FMT : A promising season, then a sudden exclusion

Danish entered the SEA Games cycle with momentum. After the national schools (MSSM) season, he joined the centralised training camp in Bukit Jalil, a commitment his mother says came at the expense of schooling.

“He has been living in Bukit Jalil because he believed he had a real chance,” said Noor Haslinda Mohd Zin.

His ASG results strengthened that belief. But on November 19, MA released its SEA Games shortlist.

The name on the 4x100m squad was senior sprinter Khairul Hafiz Jantan, who clocked slower times this year. Danish was not listed.

On November 26, while still in Brunei, his coach sent him WhatsApp instructions to write a withdrawal letter citing “back pain”.

The screenshots show the coach dictating the format line by line — the heading, the subject line, and the injury excuse. Danish hesitates, asking: “Write what, coach?”

The mother said this was the moment the family realised something was deeply wrong.

“My son was healthy. He had no back injury. He was told to write exactly what the coach wanted.

Danish complied because he feared the consequences of refusing,” she said.

Medical tests contradict coach’s claim

On December 1, Danish underwent a full assessment at ISN. The report stated he was fit for competition, contradicting the injury claim in the withdrawal letter.

The family brought this straight to MA, but then, the appeal deadline to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) had already passed.

Danish submitted an appeal on December 3, attaching the ISN report and stating clearly that the withdrawal letter was written “under instruction from the coach”.

OCM rejected it as “out of time”.

For the family, the sequence was damning: Danish was instructed to withdraw before he had any medical assessment; he was allegedly told to pretend to be injured at ISN; and when ISN cleared him, the window for appeal had closed.

Noor Haslinda said: “How can a coach tell an athlete to fake an injury? And then the MA uses the false letter as the reason to drop him?

“It makes no sense. It is not ethical. It is not honest.”

Parents fear blacklisting for speaking up

On December 6, the parents met MA’s secretary-general. She told them the matter would be examined by the disciplinary committee.

That same night, an individual informed the family that the coach had allegedly remarked: “Maybe after this, Danish will be blacklisted by MA.”

This triggered the father’s formal “Letter of Concern”, sent on December 8.

In it, Tamrin Hashim asks MA to confirm whether any conversation about blacklisting his son took place.

He writes: “This information, although unverified, is extremely worrying. It concerns the future of a young athlete trying to build a career and reputation in national sport.”

Tamrin asks for written assurance that no punitive action is planned, and for MA to investigate the remark if it was indeed made.

He also warns that the family “will not hesitate to take this to the appropriate legal channels” if no fair, transparent resolution is reached.

A case that raises sharper questions about selection control

The dispute goes beyond one athlete’s place in the relay. It exposes a structural weakness that many in Malaysian athletics have long raised privately: coaches hold too much control over selection, and the safeguards meant to protect young athletes are weak.

The WhatsApp messages appear to show a coach directing an athlete to lie in writing.

If true, it raises issues that touch athlete welfare, administrative integrity, and the credibility of national selection.

The ISN finding — which contradicts the withdrawal letter — adds weight to the family’s claim of coercion.

It also places ISN in an uncomfortable position: if athletes are told to “act injured”, its assessments risk becoming performative rather than medical.

Several officials contacted by FMT said such a scenario “has no precedent” in recent Malaysian sport.

One described it as “a breach of trust at the heart of athlete management”.

MA has stated it will not tolerate unprofessional behaviour. But it has not commented publicly on the coach’s messages or the family’s allegation of intimidation.

An 18-year-old caught between authority and ambition

Danish did not write the withdrawal letter because he wanted to give up his SEA Games spot.

He wrote it because a coach instructed him to. He did not claim a back injury because he was in pain. He did it because he felt he had no choice.

His parents say he has been left confused, demoralised and anxious about his future.

“He worked hard, he delivered results, and this is what happened,” said Noor Haslinda. “It is unfair to put any athlete through this.”

Tamrin added: “We want MA to protect our son, not punish him for speaking the truth.”

The family is now waiting for MA’s investigation. What the MA decides will determine not just whether Danish is safe to continue his career, but whether the system itself can be trusted to safeguard its athletes.

Malaysiakini : Contradictory explanations

Former Klang MP Charles Santiago related another case where a man died while in police custody, and for nine months, the police did not do anything, claiming roadblocks had been placed to prevent attempts to get the truth.

Lorry driver M Manisegaran was alive and heading home at 8.20pm. Within a span of a few hours, he was detained, transported by ambulance, and declared dead on arrival.

His wife, S Rajeswari, saw visible injuries: broken teeth, chest marks, and blood in her husband’s eyes.

When she demanded answers, she was fed a carousel of contradictory explanations ranging from a heart attack, fungal infection, drug use, to fluid in the lungs.

“And at every stage, the police withheld information from his wife. This is not confusion; it is obstruction,” said Charles.

In an immediate response, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) instructed the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Unit on Deaths in Custody to expedite its investigation into the death of Manisegaran.

In a statement, the AGC said the directive was issued to ensure the case can be promptly brought before the Coroner's Court to determine the cause and manner of Manisegaran's death.

But why wait for directives? Shouldn’t a death in custody warrant an immediate inquiry?

Caught in a storm

MACC is engulfed in its own storm. Day after day, its methods and operations fall under suspicion.

Police reports lodged by businessperson Albert Tei and his wife allege that MACC officers pointed guns at them during a raid – claims now under police investigation.

The truth, however, lies in the CCTV recordings seized from Tei’s home, which remain in MACC’s possession. The agency has denied the gunpointing allegations, but its silence on the CCTV footage speaks louder than any press statement.

Why the reluctance? The recording will portray what happened during the raid and will exonerate the MACC, which has it has consistently denied.

In what can be described as an audacious move, the MACC summoned Mahajoth Singh, a lawyer representing Tei for questioning, an action that a legal activist group slammed as an intimidation tactic.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) director Zaid Malek described it as an “extraordinary and unlawful” action that raises serious questions about investigative propriety and respect for the rule of law.

The MACC’s defence: Mahajoth possessed evidence relevant to their investigation against his client, but isn’t it aware that solicitor-client communications are confidential?

Section 126 of the Evidence Act 1950 and Section 46 of the MACC Act 2009 protect communications between lawyer and client.

With the claims, counterclaims, and statements with the truth not surfacing, shouldn’t the same principles of transparency that the prime minister advocated in the case of the police shootings be applied in this case?

Transparency is not a slogan; it is a system. It requires independent oversight, immediate disclosure, and accountability that does not depend on directives from above. When agencies investigate themselves, the public sees not transparency but theatre.

Malaysia cannot afford enforcement bodies that operate in shadows, shielded by silence and contradictions. If the police and MACC wish to restore their credibility, they must embrace scrutiny, not evade it.

Otherwise, every denial, every delay, and every missing piece of evidence will only confirm what the public already suspects: that justice here is not blind, but blinkered.

Malaysiakini : At this point, there is a litany of dismal peaks that rational Malaysians can point to where the DAP has not served the rakyat when it comes to accountability, the promotion of democratic values, and, of course, lessening the impact of theocratic imperatives in mainstream Malaysian politics.

DAP politicians, apparatchiks, and online trolls smugly ask if not the DAP, who can the “Nons” vote for? It is either the DAP or a theocratic state.

The online harassment of third-party candidates, as well as the demeaning of so-called mosquito parties and outliers speaking against the double talk of the DAP, is a testament that the Nons have shot themselves in the foot when it comes to viable alternatives to legacy parties.

None of these trolls will ever acknowledge that the DAP, by kowtowing to Madani, is speeding up the Islamic state project.

None of these cretins will ever acknowledge that while the average rakyat who supports the DAP does not have the option of leaving this country, many mandarins and power brokers in the DAP shape party politics and have the means to leave when the theocratic state comes.

The most damning thing about the video clip of Karpal Singh that was unearthed recently was that it demonstrated how the party leadership abandoned him when he was fighting the right fight.

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READ MORE: Sangeet recalls Karpal’s fiery dressing-down of Anwar

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Some folks think that was in response to the recent Sabah slap and how DAP is supposed to be standing up to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, but I think it is a reminder that the DAP’s political class and culture have a history of not supporting righteous causes and indulging in political expediency while abandoning right-minded comrades.

This is what destroys a party, because there are always voices in political parties who speak up on foundational principles, but they are sidelined by those who have tasted the perks and privileges that come with power.

DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng babbles on about how DAP was rejected in Sabah because of taxes, which displays how out of touch the leadership of the DAP is with the groundswell of anti-establishment sentiment there is in this country.

The problem is not that some feel that Anwar has not done enough, but rather that he has done too much to appease a right-wing, theocratic state-in-waiting.

And please do not think of this as solely a non-Malay issue. The fact is, democratic principles and secular values would benefit a majority of Malays if only the DAP had the cojones to stay the course.

People are tired of this Madani nonsense, and they will turn to parties they think will make their lives better. For the majority community, this comes with an Islamic imperative, an imperative which should have been controlled under Madani with the aid of the DAP, but which wasn’t.

Corporate interest over community voice

I guess the point of DAP remaining in Madani is that the party gets a property czar, for example. What the DAP should be advocating for and has done so in the past is local council elections.

Instead of a local council election, which acts as a check-and-balance to a whole range of issues, and where communities determine what the places they live in need, we get the Urban Renewal Act (URA), which concentrates power in the hands of government and where backchanneling, backroom deals, and corporate malfeasance get a fig leaf of legality.

Do you know why Malay uber alles politicians play the race card when it comes to local council elections?

They want to destroy democratic opportunities where the Malays, especially if they are a minority in certain areas, understand that their welfare is safeguarded by a non-Malay majority.

Because once this happens, all bets are off. This is why politics is always local.

So, instead of laying the foundation for more democratic engagement, which would benefit the political party but more importantly the rakyat, what we get is a property czar working in concert with corporate interests and the political class, which adversely affects the average Malay rakyat, who then succumbs to the race and religious dialectic of the opposition.

Religious overreach

I do not mean to pour cold water on Ramkarpal Singh dressing down the home minister for that health spa raid, but the reality is that Madani is playing the religious card by persecuting the LGBTQ+ community. Reportage of the raid indicates how Nons were caught up in this.

The home minister has the gumption to claim no religion supports this activity, which basically sets the precedent that Islamic laws and norms apply to the Nons. See how dangerous this has become?

This home minister should be under investigation for his role in the FAM/Fifa scandal; hence, DAP should be pushing for him to be replaced. Is this a shocking thing to say?

Politicians, especially those in the ruling party, replacing ministers who are not performing or engaging in malfeasance, is a shocking thing to advocate? This, of course, is a normal process in any functional democracy.

And of course, the behaviour of the Royal Malaysia Police, which is getting iron-clad support from the home minister, is the reason why this country needs an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

Blind loyalty erodes integrity

Since the DAP is a stand-in for the Chinese community, they will be accused of controlling the government and any other racist propaganda the Malay establishment will throw at them. So what?

Look, the DAP is going to be demonised anyway. Political opportunists like Umno Youth chief Akmal Saleh understand that it really does not matter what they do because the DAP support base will not punish the DAP, unlike the Malay majority polity, who have demonstrated their willingness to shift their support to whatever reactionary Malay/Muslim party they think best serves their interests.

DAP supporters are always asking for solutions. The problem is that they don’t really want solutions because DAP, as a party, had the solutions. They had politicians who were willing to carry them out if given a chance.

What changed? The DAP realised that they could do whatever they wanted, discard any principle, kowtow to anything the Malay establishment wanted, and their supporters would still vote them in.

If the DAP were really serious about reforming the party and the country, they would be asking themselves the same question, rational Malaysians are asking: What is the point of remaining in Madani?

Malaysiakini : Double standards from the highest office

This is a government where the prime minister oversees the conversion of a Hindu youth but cannot instruct the state security apparatus to return a child to her Hindu mother.

And remember, this is the prime minister who, when he was the leader of the opposition in 2013, said that the position in Islam was that conversion could only occur with the consent of the mother.

As reported in the press, “There’s a specific case where the Prophet Muhammad sent a child back to the mother because the mother did not convert to Islam and only the father did so.”

When former law minister Zaid Ibrahim warns non-Muslims, “there are going to be more”, this is exactly the agenda of the deep Islamic state.

Make no mistake, if Madani or any other government wanted to correct this cruelty in the legal system, they could. However, cruelty is the point of supremacy. What is the use of supremacy if you cannot demonstrate its power?

And what is the state doing but demonstrating its power over Indira and those who support her? What is it doing by keeping a mother from her child? What is it doing by brazenly ignoring the order of the civil courts?

What is it doing by putting forward narratives that muddy the waters and stir racial and religious sentiment? What is it doing by galvanising religious sentiment online against this Hindu mother by refusing to perform its legal obligations?

The state security apparatus has ignored judgments from the judicial branch and has let a child kidnapper escape the course of justice. And why do you think this is? Well, because they understand that the only people who could sanction such behaviour are the political class.

In other words, they understand that they are free from the repercussions that the ordinary rakyat are subject to if they break the law. It is as simple as that.

Collapse of police credibility

Can anyone trust anything the inspector-general of police (IGP) says now? When conniving political operatives (BN, then Pakatan Harapan) tell us to trust the investigation, can anyone take them seriously? You do understand what this means, right?

Now, when a Muslim convert or a Muslim kidnapper kidnaps his or her child, what he or she has is precedent that the state security apparatus will do everything in their power to see to it that the crime results in a “happy ending” or where the child is never rescued.

Indira’s ex-husband, Riduan Abdullah, has successfully, with the aid of fellow travellers in the deep Islamic state, evaded the Royal Malaysia Police for years, outfoxed god knows how many IGPs, made the state security apparatus look like bungling, insipid keystone cops, and of course, now he has to deal with an IGP who behaves as if this is a new case.

Riduan even outlasted various changes in government, which no doubt shows him that he is beyond the reach of any form of government. It would not surprise me if there are average citizens conspiring to keep this child within Islam.

I do not think these people consider Riduan as some sort of religious martyr, but rather, they believe that Indira’s daughter belongs to them and their faith.

Rational Malaysians, whatever their religious beliefs, have to ask, why are fellow travellers of the deep Islamic state so invested in seeing that Indira is not reunited with Prasana?

What these theocrats-in-waiting and their factotums want to demonstrate is that religious supremacy trumps everything. Civil laws, the political class, the state security apparatus, and various pressure groups.

But most importantly, and this is the critical part, the love of a mother for her child.

Malaysiakini : High levels of uncertainty, pockets of certainty

In this piece, I draw from my ground research across all 73 seats in Sabah to lay out six broad predictions about the coming polls.

I begin with a caveat. Given the high level of competitiveness in at least a quarter of the races – what I label “too uncertain to call” – the final push in the last day of polls could swing the electoral outcome, not least of which is the potential negative impact of the weather/heavy rains on turnout.

Advantage lies with those who can bring their supporters to the polls, with the support of resources.

1. No one crosses majority line

At this juncture, it remains clear that no one coalition and party will win an outright majority of 37 seats. The Sabah government appears highly likely to be formed through post-coalition deal-making.

This will empower elites in power and likely create new alliances that will divide the Madani coalition. Sabah polls have already strained relations within the governing coalition, and this is likely to continue.

2. No big Warisan wave: Below the wind

Despite the hype of winning the government and a surge of support in urban areas for Warisan, this party is not likely to have enough seats to form a government on its own.

In fact, it may be the second contender, depending on whether it receives a last-minute boost in support outside of urban areas.

Warisan has significant gaps in winning some seats in the east coast, the north and the west coast of Sabah. It does not have the same momentum that it had in 2018 across the state as a whole, although its core supporters are more enthusiastic and hopeful of victory than ever.

The test for Warisan will be whether (and if so, how many) it wins over its 2020 result, when it won 23 seats.

3. GRS remains strong: Staying with safety

Hajiji Noor’s incumbent coalition remains strong with a combination of stalwarts and resources. With the support of Parti Bersatu Sabah, GRS has always been an underrated contender in these polls. After PKR, GRS has the most money in the 17th Sabah election, and it has made Umno’s machinery of the past its own.

GRS should win over 20 seats, if its money continues to go to the ground. If this happens, GRS may reach over the 30 mark.

Yet, the driver of the support from below is one of safety, rather than adoration. Voters who support GRS support it because they see it as what they know, and modest improvements.

They also often have greater trust in the local candidates, who are also well known. The adage “the devil you know is better than you don’t” rings true, although many see the popular GRS local candidates, such as Ghulamhaidar @ Yusof bin Khan Bahadar in Kawang and Masidi Manjun in Karaanan, as more of a potential rescuer for times of need.

Realities of survival and vulnerability reinforce support for a status quo, especially when that status quo is cloaked in the “local party” branding.

4. Damaged Harapan: Red anger

The campaign has been the most heated against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose trust deficit among voters has been on display. Harapan will be hurt in this election, not least from the fact that it has already split, and the exit door has opened.

The circumstances that pushed Ewon out should have been avoided of the 40 percent revenue payment, and the “colonial” rebukes by peninsula leaders abstained from.

The subsequent political scandal, reportedly tying PKR to the mining scandal, has only eroded trust in Harapan further.

DAP should win some seats, based on performance delivery and likeability of the candidate - but the last-minute anger over corruption/silence over reforms and overeager defences of alienating comments about Sabah rights have seriously hurt the party.

PKR has adopted the honed practices of Malaysian incumbent power and is using resources from multimedia to other state departments, repeatedly pushing its control of federal power in the campaign.

In fact, in many of the constituencies PKR is contesting, there is a “red flood” that is bigger than BN and PN's resource campaigns of the past, tied to the levers of being in power.

This may give PKR a chance in seats like Merotai (where Anwar visited three times), Kamarunting and Inanam, but trust in Anwar has dropped considerably, replaced in many cases by an outright “tolak” (reject) push.

5. Reduced BN: Steady but eroded support

Umno-BN is fighting for its political life in Sabah. The state has long been an integral part of Umno’s national strength and, in turn, Umno has been an integral part of the state since its entry in 1994.

BN lacks the resources of the past and has been more focused in its outreach due to less resources. It has opted for a steady, ground candidate-centred (but uneven) campaign, hoping that a renewal of its candidates and efforts to strengthen its engagement around “buat kerja” (do work) and representing its traditional core supporters will yield results.

The last few days of this campaign will be instrumental for BN, which looks to reduce its seats from the 14 it won in 2020. If things go BN’s way it could win 20, but it looks more likely to win less than 10 seats.

If the money tide turns against them, BN could win less than even five seats. Here too, BN’s machinery will be critical if it can bring out their traditional voters in what is expected to be challenging weather tomorrow.

6. Expect the unexpected underdog

The uncertainty around the poll points to the emergence of smaller political forces. Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), Upko, Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM), Black Wave and PN are all underdogs in this campaign, although in particular seats some of these parties are favoured.

Good examples are Ewon in Kadamaian and Wetrom Bahanda in Matunggong.

All of these parties should win at least one seat, with the exception of PN. PAS has a chance in both Karambunai and Balung, largely due to their social media and stealth (look like Sabahans, not traditional PAS members) campaigns.

Bersatu’s Ronald Kiandee in Sugut and Labuk cannot be ruled out, but these areas have been GRS bombed with resources multiple times.

PN faces a test to see if they are a national opposition/coalition and have tapped into youth support with targeted resources, despite challenges. Sabah has been difficult terrain for these parties since the end of the Muhyiddin Yassin Bersatu-led government.

Upko, Star, KDM and the Black Wave have all been working to win support, especially among Kadazan-Dusun-Murut-Rungus voters. Upko and Star have had the best narratives, both relying on sentiment with limited resources, while KDM and Black Wave have been primarily candidate-based with flush resources from unknown sources.

Three Independents to watch are Fairuz Redden in Pintasan, Verdon Bahanda in Tanjong Kapor and Jordan Ellron in Tulid.

Sabah always brings surprises. No question some of these underdog smaller parties/individuals will win seats, and they will be pivotal in whichever coalition/party is able to form government.

The campaign is coming down to the wire. My overview – based on ground fieldwork and an appreciation of uncertainties (money/machinery flow) as of this morning shows more than a third of the seats too close/uncertain to call.

Among the 27 uncertain seats are Bandau, Tamparuli, Tanjong Kapor, Paginatan, Bingkor, Karambunai, Petagas, Pantai Manis, Sindumin, Kukusan, Melalap, Sungai Sibuga, Sekong, to name just a few of these.

This uncertain group is where the balance of power will swing, to which party/coalition will have the most seats to negotiate from.

Discussions about alliances have been underway and likely will intensify after tomorrow. For now, however, the balance of power will be in the hands of Sabahans.

Until the end of polling tomorrow, after which the men will sing, Sabahans have more power to determine the outcome than ever. Every vote will count in these contests, especially in the swing, uncertain seats.

Whatever happens, however, one message will be clear. Sabahans want more power, local voices and representation. Whoever will be the ones entrusted to deliver on this message remains uncertain.