[ad_1]
KOTA KINABALU: As the clock ticks closer and closer to the day of the nomination for the Sabah state assembly elections next Saturday, opposition parties are likely to examine a number of issues during the two-week campaign period.
Lee Kuok Tiung of the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) said that the problem of illegal immigrants and the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 would be “dinosaur issues”, protracted issues discussed on numerous occasions and that have not yet been resolved.
“They stay in the abstract, they are not going anywhere,” he told FMT.
However, illegal immigrants continued to be a problem in Sabah and the state had yet to obtain its due from the federal government.
“Now, there will also be an emphasis on stateless children and cross-border diseases like polio,” he said.
Lee said fake ID cards and shadowy or ghost voters would also be associated with illegal immigrants in the state.
Another issue that emerged from the debate on illegal immigrants is the opposition’s accusation that Warisan is a party friendly to illegal immigrants, a claim that the multiracial party has repeatedly rejected.
Acting Chief Minister Shafie Apdal was also accused of being an illegal immigrant and that Warisan was a lanun (pirate) party, which the Semporna deputy had threatened to sue if such accusations did not cease.
Warisan economy, jobs and promises
The declining state economy would be another problem, Lee said.
“These are bread and butter issues. There is too much politicking and the rice field or the welfare of the people have been forgotten. With the Covid-19 pandemic, believe me, everyone is worried about their finances.
“Many have been disappointed in both parties and are determined to come out on their own as contestants this time. So don’t be surprised to see a clash from many corners in this election, ”she said.
Sabah UiTM’s Firdausi Suffian said there were high expectations for Warisan when he came to power, but that development was stifled due to the pandemic and the change of government at the federal level.
“As much as (Warisan) may present these perspectives to voters, the fact is that (the) people will tend to question how they solve and mitigate economic problems (including) during Covid-19, about which there have been many complaints, ” he said.
Mega projects and political appointments
He added that Warisan promised in the last election that he would not repeat the actions of the previous government, for example, no political appointments in companies linked to the government (GLC).
“But they still did it (political appointment at GLC). This is similar to the Barisan Nasional (BN) led by Umno last time. “
Lee also said that issues related to mega-projects such as the Kaiduan Dam and the multi-billion dollar Ringgit Tanjung Aru Ecological Development (TAED) would also take center stage.
Both were BN-era projects that received much criticism from the public. Warisan and his allies, then in opposition, campaigned against the bills in the 14th general election.
However, after assuming power, the construction of the Kaiduan Dam, which was supposed to be in Penampang, was moved to the neighboring Papar district and was renamed Papar Dam.
At TAED, Shafie had denied that Warisan was against the controversial project, saying the plan was to scale it down.
Opposition attacks and Warisan defense
Romzi Ationg, also from UMS, said that among other issues that the opposition will raise would be the lifting of the two-term limit for the governor of Sabah and the lack of political alignment between the state and federal governments.
He also said that the opposition would try to portray the Warisan-led government as incompetent because of many of its young and inexperienced leaders.
However, he said the Warisan Plus coalition could hope to counter the negatives by brandishing the initiatives it had undertaken as well as criticizing the failures of previous state administrations.
“Warisan will showcase the distribution of native individual land titles and the case of ‘Sabah for Sabahans’. They will also claim that the opposition is greedy, as well as the widespread practice of monetary policy and nepotism on the part of the opposition and previous governments.
“In addition to that, Warisan will also raise claims about the granting of citizenships to foreigners during BN’s reign and the culture of ‘politik katak’ (party jump) between rival parties,” he said.
