By Datuk Philip Golingai
Senior Journalist/Columnist
The candidate with 28% of the total votes can sisip (Sabah slang to go through) to be the YB.
TOMORROW, Sabahans head to the polls.
Who will win?Who will secure the mandate?
Predicting the winners across the 73 seats in this Sabah election is proving incredibly difficult.
Yes, there are some seats – especially those defended by party presidents – that are almost shoo-ins, such as Sulaman held by caretaker Chief Minister and GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, Senallang by Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, Tambunan by Sabah STAR president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Kadamaian by Upko president Datuk Ewon Benedick.
However, there are about 50 seats that are still up in the air.
Voters are confused because the field is so fractured – locals call it semua berpecah – due to the sheer number of parties and a record-breaking 596 candidates contesting in multi-cornered fights, with one seat (Tulid) seeing a 14-way race.
It is these multi-cornered fights which are making the election difficult to read.
Previously, it was simple.
It was usually a case of a “good” party/candidate versus an “evil” party/candidate in most seats.
In 2020, it was Warisan Plus (Warisan, Pakatan Harapan and Upko) versus Perikatan Nasional, Barisan Nasional and PBS.
In 2018, it was Barisan Nasional versus Pakatan Harapan plus Warisan versus Sabah STAR.
Now, with the 14-cornered, 13-cornered, 12-cornered, 10-cornered or nine-cornered fights, there are, for example, one “evil” party/candidate and five or six “good” parties/candidates.
Take the seat which I vote for, Moyog. It is in the Penampang parliamentary constituency, next to the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat.
There are 12 candidates, and in Penampang, almost everyone is a “waris” (relative).
A first cousin, Joseph Suleiman of STAR, and a nephew, Remysta Jimmy Taylor of PKR/Pakatan, are contesting.
I have favourite parties I would like to see win, and two “evil” parties I think that should not be voted in.
In the 2020 Sabah Election, it was a no-brainer on who to vote for – a “waris” so that he doesn’t lose his deposit.
But now the stakes are higher. With multiple “good” candidates versus two “evil” ones, who do I vote for?
Personally, I will go for a candidate from a party which puts Sabah first.
There are two Moyog frontrunners – Datuk Donald Peter Mojuntin of Upko, whose motto is Sabah First, and Terrence Siambun of Warisan, with the motto Selamatkan Sabah (Save Sabah).
Even if the other candidate do not win, they may still take voters away from the leading politicians.
For example, Suleiman and Joeynodd Bansin of PBS/GRS will have a sizeable number of loyal voters, eating away at the numbers of the forerunners.
It is the same in seats next to Moyog, like Kapayan and Inanam, which are 13-cornered fights.
In Kapayan, if just 30% of the voters support a national-based party, say DAP of Pakatan, while 70% are in favour of local parties like Warisan, Upko, STAR and Parti KDM, the national-based party could still win.
The 30% votes will remain solid while the 70% for local parties will be split four ways.
In the 2020 polls, three independents won, and there is a possibility that some will do so again this time.
The seats where this is likely to happen are: Pintasan, Bandau, Kukusan, Inanam, Tulid, Tanjung Kapor and Sebatik.
Tomorrow, the results might show that in most crowded seats in the 2025 Sabah Election, the candidate with 28% of the total votes can sisip (Sabah slang to go through) to be the YB.
