Why Pas faces an uphill battle to win seats in Sabah’s November election

By Phlip Rodrigues

On 29 November, when Sabah voters troop to the polling booths, Pas hopes that at least one of its candidates will win a seat.

So far, the Islamist party had never been given a chance to set foot on Sabah soil through many elections. Hency, it has been unable to export its brand of toxic politics to the “Land Below the Wind”.

In Sabah’s 2018 election, held simultaneously with the general election that year, Pas fielded 18 candidates, but none made it to Sabah Legislative Assembly.

Likewise, in the 2020 Sabah election, Pas stayed out of the fray rather than throw its hat into the ring and get drubbed decisively again

But as the 2025 election looms, the party with its rigidly conversative brand of Islam sees the polls as another opportunity to ‘break the egg’ in Sabah – meaning it wants to erase its zero record there.

Pas plans to put up 12 candidates this time. Knowing how the people there are against its presence, the party is probably banking on winning just one seat.

This solitary seat in Sabah would be enough of a beachhead for the party to plant the seeds of divisiveness and spread its communal brand of politics insidiously.

Pas did manage to break its ‘duck egg’ when its member, Aliakbar Gulasan, the Sabah Pas commissioner, was nominated to the Sabah assembly following the snap election in 2020.

But the party did not actually participate in that election, probably because it knew it would not have a snowball in hell’s chance of winning any seat let alone capturing power.

Sabah is a different kettle of fish. Many political leaders there see Sabah not just as another state but as a region with special status under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Incumbent Deputy CM Jeffrey Kitingan has reportedly claimed that Putrajaya already recognises Sabah as a region [though this status remains constitutionally disputed].

It follows that the slogan “Sabah for Sabahans” will be ringing loud and clear in the coming battle for the hearts and minds of the people.

This means that ‘state nationalism and local issues’ will be the deciding factors in the election of a new state government.

What then can Pas contribute to Sabah except its divisive brand of politics with religion and race as its only trump cards?

Still, the party will try its level best to win votes from Muslim voters and from the bumiputra group.

In Sabah, the bumiputra are the indigenous people who are not necessarily Muslims. Many are also Christians. Ethnic groups like Kadazan-Dusun, Chinese, Bajau, Bugis and Murut profess other faiths like Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism.

Pas, master at the art of exploiting religious and racial issues, will no doubt concentrate its fire on the Malay-Muslim vote bank, especially in rural areas.

It may also be eyeing new Muslim converts, especially the youth, to get them to come on board the ‘green boat’. Maybe it feels young minds are susceptible to its preaching and ripe for the picking.

If Pas can capture all the Malay votes and a large chunk of the indigenous people’s support, it can probably sneak into the Sabah assembly with more of its representatives.

But this is not easy. The people of Sabah are more concerned with local issues of the here and now than listening to the political rhetoric of Pas leaders, who are more worried about the hereafter.

People in Sabah know that Pas is a divisive force, as can be seen in its behaviour in the peninsula, where its pernicious politics has roiled the country.

And now, this same political force wants to re-enact a similar divisive course in the upcoming battle for Sabah’s soul.

Emboldened by its impressive parliamentary victories in the 2022 general election – capturing 43 seats – Pas feels the time is right to tear down the walls of Fortress Sabah and plant its flags in the assembly.

But what local issues can Pas bring up in Sabah? The current talk of the town is the recent verdict of the Kota Kinabalu High Court that the federal government had acted illegally by failing to “honour Sabah’s 40% share of federal revenue for nearly five decades”.

Putrajaya had thus breached the Federal Constitution, ruled the court.

This is a potentially explosive issue that prompted Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Ewon Benedick to threaten to resign if Putrajaya appeals against the ruling.

Will Pas side with the Sabah government when it goes on the stump? Or back Putrajaya in its bid to overturn the ruling?

Whichever position it takes, the conservative Islamist party is unlikely to influence the voters. If it backs the federal “Madani” (trustworthy) administration, it would go against the wishes of many in Sabah who want to get back a large slice of their revenue.

If Pas supports the Sabah government, it may be seen as just a political gimmick to woo the electorate.

Nevertheless, party president Hadi Awang and other Pas leaders can exploit the corruption scandal that is shaking the Sabah administration. They can showcase the party’s performance in the four states it rules – Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis.

But even this ploy may not work because many in Sabah know what it means to be ruled by political-cum-religious leaders who are only interested in all matters spiritual (as narrowly defined).

So, it is ‘mission impossible’ for Pas to topple the current administration led by incumbent Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, who heads Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) – now or in the future.

The most likely scenario will be that the strong winds in Sabah will blow Pas back to the peninsula, where it will continue to wreak havoc in the run-up to the next general election, which is only two years away.

Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.

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