WITH most GRS component parties having had their AGMs past few months including SAPP and Usno, the scene is set for the ‘battle’ come next State election.
Although it can be held anytime from now, but most don’t expect it be held before year end.
“Alang alang next year lah, they say.”
Just as the stage is set for the battle, a bombshell was dropped second week of November.
A so-called Whistleblower claimed that he had 8 video recordings of Sabah Assemblymen (likely from GRS) being involved in “corruption” with regard to Sabah’s mineral resources.
The ‘Whistleblower’ sought MACC’s ‘Witness Protection’ before he can give more details.
But the so-called details already surfaced in the social media one by one so that there is nothing much left to be disclosed to the MACC.
Besides, MACC explained that to be eligible for Witness Protection, one must come forward and make an official report and must not be involved in the ‘Corruption’ himself such as by offering the bribes in the first place.
The ‘Whistleblower’ has not turned up in MACC again since.
Even the Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim himself said that no Whistleblower can be given Witness Protection unless the conditions as stated by MACC are fulfilled.
On the day that this matter first surfaced CM Hajiji said it was best to leave it to the MACC to investigate, adding that he had nothing to hide.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid praised Hajiji for his decision to let MACC handle the situation, saying that other political leaders should emulate Hajiji’s example.
But I don’t know if Zahid was shedding crocodile tears, given his laboratory statement.
In the meantime, most of the implicated Assemblymen have had their statements taken by the MACC.
So let the MACC take it from there. We shouldn’t speculate too much.
The relevant federal agency has also asked the news portal which broke the ‘scandal’ to take down the videos or audio recordings in order not to affect their (including police) investigations.
So, in conclusion, how will this affect Hajiji’s position as CM in particular and GRS’s position as the State Government in general?
Do you think he can survive a second “attack” after the failed coup last year?
An analyst said he can.
“This one is nothing compared to the coup last year. That one was more direct and devastating. And yet Hajiji survived.
In fact, not only survived, but emerged stronger, said an analyst, quoting Anwar’s “Silat Moves” comment on Hajiji.
Besides, any intelligent member of the public will know that there is a conspiracy to topple Hajiji and the GRS government.
Renowned Malaysian newspaper columnist Datuk Philip Golingai of the Star in his column last week commented that the secretly filmed videos are a sideshow.
The main show is the power play to bring down Hajiji.
Philip, a Kadazan from Sabah, asked: “What is the reason for the well-planned video releases?
Is it to expose corruption because the so-called whistleblower/businessman hates corruption?
Is it revenge because several Prospecting Licences (PLs) were not renewed? Is it to bring down Hajiji’s government and install a Chief Minister who will renew the PLs?”
Philip added that the so-called whistleblower himself told the news portal (Malaysiakini), to which he has exclusive access and given his videos, that the YBs in the videos were filmed accepting bribes from him to support his application for a mining exploration licence.
In other words, the whistleblower is a bribe-giving crook.
“The businessman is part of a syndicate comprising retired top enforcement officers (some with backgrounds in political intelligence gathering) and an inside man.
The syndicate, headed by a Tan Sri, has espionage know-how (e.g. a James Bond-type spy pen that can record HD videos) and a strategy (using a well-meaning news portal to release videos to push the corruption narrative).
“This is a plot done by people with intelligence background and not by politicians. If it were by V, it wouldn’t be well-executed as he doesn’t have the brains for it,” my (Philip) political contact told me, adding that the syndicate initiated the game and later roped in politicians who want to regain power in Sabah.
“The YBs in the video look like they’re accepting political donations. In Malaysia, there are no clearly defined regulations on political funding, so a politician or a political party could receive contributions without limit and from sources that are not disclosed.
“The inside joke is that the only crime the YBs committed is getting friendly with a businessman who gives off crook vibes.
However, the public percepton is terrible. It looks like there is corruption involved.
The public has been fed a video that the syndicate edited to show the “worst” of the subjects.
In fact, the businessman whose identity has been kept a secret, actually told the portal that the videos he handed over had been edited.
“Of course, the selectively edited videos are aimed at making the subjects look their worst. So far four have been released; there are 16 more videos but the businessman will not release some for tactical reasons.
“Even MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki has questioned why the so-called whistleblower is providing the news outlet with high-definition videos whereas the MACC was given a 17-second “kurang jelas” (not clear) audio clip. “This is uncalled for trick,” Azam said.
So, is this a plot to bring down Hajiji’s government and install a Chief Minister who will renew the PLs? I will introduce a new question: “How would you bring down the Hajiji government? It can come from within.
The GRS government can remain in power but with a change of Chief Minister. Hajiji can be promoted to Sabah Yang-Pertua Negeri and a president of a GRS component party can take over his post. Governor Tun Juhar’s term expires soon unless renewed.
Rumours are abound that Hajiji may take over from Juhar end of the year. I don’t think so.
For Hajiji to do so may be deemed as an admission of guilt in the face of the on-going corruption accusations against his government.
The likelihood is that Hajiji will still lead GRS in next year’s election and in the event TYT Juhar’s term is extended two years, Hajiji will take over.
Before that, Hajiji will hand over his CM post to his trusted lieutenant Masidi Manjun, a lawyer.
Hajiji and Manjun go back a long way, all the way back to the Berjaya days between late 1970s and early 80s when Masidi was Tuaran DO.
Hajiji comes from Tuaran and was once ADO. The duo understand each other, work well with each other and trust each other.
They remind me of the “deadly” James Wong-Hassan Sani combination in the hey days of Sabah football between the 70s and 80s. No need for me to say more.
But this is only my speculation ah. The late Rev Fr Fundes said: “I am responsible for what I say, but I am not responsible for what you make out of it.” Hajiji is a CM for all Sabahans.
During the recent TYT’s birthday, he made sure that Catholic priest Fr Felix Chung be made a Datuk.
Meanwhile, Philip added that “But the syndicate seems to have a different plan. It supposedly has the backing of a national political party that hopes to return to power in Sabah. To be exact, one faction in the party.
However, another faction won’t be too pleased if its rival gets the CM post. The businessman approached the YBs to demand they pay back the political donation and support V for CM. So far, I’m told that the YBs are not bucking under pressure.
“Hajiji supporters have told me that the Chief Minister is a political survivor. One quoted what PM Anwar said in February 2023: “Hajiji even though he is known to be mild-mannered, has used some “Silat moves”, stay in power and even has a majority now.
Team Hajiji is confident that Putrajaya will support it in the coming political storm.
Well, I would caution team members to watch their backs. If someone from a non-Sabah political party gets the CM post, will he eventually kill the current Sabah demands for its Malaysia Agreement 1963 rights to be honoured?,” concluded Philip, Sabah’s most senior journalist in a national newspaper.
For DAP, it was their election year. For PBS, no election but last- minute rumours created some tension.
The DAP election saw an upset whereby incumbent State Chairman Frankie Poon was ousted by former protégé, Ginger Phoong.
I wrote that if Ginger challenged Poon, it would be like the Chinese saying “The pupil fights the master after learning his skills”.
This is because Ginger was Poon’s political secretary when the latter first became Minister during the Warisan+ reign beginning 2018.
But it’s incorrect to say that the pupil challenged the master. Ginger did not actually challenge Poon.
The DAP system is such that the conference delegates firstly elect 15 members to the State party committee.
The 15 will then choose a leader from among them. Poon for some reason was not elected to be among the 15, an upset.
The 15 selected Ginger to replace him. So Ginger’s conscience is clear. As to why Poon was ousted and Ginger elected, that’s the delegates’ right and no one can question. This is democracy.
Member of Parliament for Kota Kinabalu, Chan Foong Hin was selected by the 15 to be Ginger’s deputy.
Chan is also a Federal Deputy Minister. So you have a State Minister (Ginger) and a Federal Deputy Minister (Chan) leading Sabah DAP. A strong team.
Actually, Chan’s position as a Deputy Minister is equivalent to a State Minister if not higher.
I say “if not higher” because in 1983 when Datuk Dr James Ongkili introduced Datuk Clarence Mansul to his Berjaya Tamparuli Division leaders, the former described a Deputy Minister as “somewhere in between a State Minister and Deputy Chief Minister in terms of status”.
Mansul, a former Deputy Minister and former MP, was selected by Berjaya to replace Ongkili as the party candidate for the Tamparuli by-election.
Ongkili was Assemblyman for Tamparuli since 1976 when Berjaya defeated Alliance/Usno.
He also won the Tuaran Parliamentary seat in 1978 which enabled him to become a Federal Minister in 1983.
But I think Chan is quite comfortable in being just Ginger’s deputy as he would be busy in Kuala Lumpur as a deputy minister.
Ginger is a Sabah Minister, being DAP’s sole representative in the State Cabinet and therefore more than qualified to lead Sabah DAP.
As someone who served the Federal Government in KL between 1983-85, I know how some West Malaysians view our Sabah or Sarawak Ministers.
To them, a Sabah or Sarawak Minister is nobody. You have to be CM, then they will look at you. Even two Sabah ex-DCMs only became Deputy Minister when they were posted to KL.
What an insult!
Chan deserved to be in the 15 elected and later selected Deputy Chairman for his loyalty to the party.
He lost in the last party election 3 years ago but he remained loyal to the party unlike someone who left.
For his loyalty, he was selected to be the party candidate for MP again in 2022 in KK which he won and later appointed deputy minister.
Actually I don’t like to use the term ‘State Minister’ and prefer ‘Sabah Minister’.
This is because in certain places like Singapore a State Minister is actually a deputy minister or even worst an assistant minister. In Sarawak, they don’t use the term “State” anymore.
Sabah DAP’s sole Assistant Minister (Finance), Tan Lee Fatt also did not make it to the 15 elected.
This is despite him not accepting his Datukship at the Istana in line with party policy. I would like to think that he lost not because he was unpopular but simply because he was in the wrong team, that’s all.
Looks like the delegates were determined to get rid of the incumbents, with due respect to Frankie, a lawyer.
By the way, an Assistant Minister is not a Member of the State Cabinet as some may think.
He is just an Assistant Minister (an assistant to his Minister). Full stop. That’s why he doesn’t attend Cabinet meetings unless invited.
Same thing in KL, a Deputy Minister is not a Member of the Federal Cabinet and therefore doesn’t attend Cabinet meetings.
Anyway, I am glad that all the three Bumiputra ladies that I promoted in my last article won seats in the 15 elected.
They are Kepayan Assemblywoman Jannie Lasimbang, Senator Noorita Sual from Tenom and Grelydia Gillod from Keningau.
Jannie and Noorita who is former Tenom MP have been made Vice-Chairman, quite a milestone in the history of Sabah DAP as far as women and natives are concerned.
Grelydia, an up-and-coming young DAP leader, has been made Political Education Director.
Noorita and Grelydia’s election is also a good sign for DAP’s expansion in the Interior where the party is gaining ground despite being a KL-based and Chinese-majority party.
In fact Noorita, a lawyer, made history when she became the first female DAP MP in the KDM-majority Tenom in 2018. Although she was not re-elected in 2022, she was appointed a Senator which still makes her a MP. Another lady, Sandakan MP Vivian Wong also won and she has been appointed Secretary of Sabah DAP, I believe the first woman to do so.
Although she is a Chinese, her mother is from my hometown Tamparuli. Hidup Tamparuli! OK, so much for DAP.
With a new and strong line-up, they are all poised to face the next State election expected next year.
Whether they will remain an associate of GRS remains to be seen.
But I believe they will. PBS which ruled Sabah from 1985 to 1994 and rejoined BN in 2002, also had its AGM recently.
This is not their election year and therefore nothing exciting to be expected.
Except for a last-minute rumour that party founder Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan may make a comeback to lead the party.
I had already explained the why and how in my previous article.
Suffice for me to say that it (the comeback) did not happen as I predicted because it doesn’t make sense.
Pairin wouldn’t stoop so low. He is PBS’ Premier Patron or Adviser (something like that).
Pairin’s non-interference is good for acting president Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Joachim Gunsalam who is 2nd Deputy Chief Minister after Dr Jeffrey.
It shows the Huguan Siou’s confidence in him to continue to lead the party.
The way is now clear for Dr Joachim to officially lead PBS come next year when there is party election.
He is expected to be confirmed as President by the delegates although the party constitution does not prevent anybody from challenging him.
If (I said IF) there is any challenge, that challenge is likely to come from Datuk Joniston Bangkuai who almost defeated Dr Joachim at the last party election.
The Kiulu Assemblym lost narrowly. Assuming that each party division can send 10 delegates to the AGM, that means Joniston lost by only half-a-division.
That cannot be ignored. Joniston had then pointed out that he wasn’t challenging anybody but merely contested because there was a vacancy.
Will Joniston use the same excuse again next year?
If he does, it’s his right.
However, as a political observer I do not expect Joniston to ‘challenge’ Dr Joachim a second time (for the Presidency) next year because there is a vacancy following Dr Max Ongkili’s stepping down.
But who am I to tell Joniston not to do so.
This is democracy and we are living in a free world.
Bit the likelihood is that Joniston will go for the deputy presidency (KDM quota) and he is not expected to be challenged although no one can stop other challengers.
A party insider told me that Pairin will do all he can to prevent any challenge for both Dr Joachim and Joniston for unity since next year will also be State election year.
“With the State election looming, PBS cannot afford to be disunited,” a source stated.
Besides, if Joniston is already Deputy President, he is expected to be President sooner or later as Dr Joachim is not going to be President forever. Sabar brother.
Kesabaran itu adalah separuh dari politik, according to a former Umno Assemblyman and Assistant Minister Datuk Surady Kayong.
The writing on the wall is very clear. Soon after Dr Joachim became the acting President, the party secretary-general issued a statement saying that as Dr Joachim is now acting President, Joniston would be acting Deputy President.
But Dr Joachim countered by saying that officially he is still the deputy president and only acting as President. Therefore the question of having an acting deputy president did not arise.
The secretary-general’s statement was rescinded.
Although the statement was rescinded, it showed that effort was already under way to avoid a possible second fight between Dr Joachim and Joniston for the sake of party unity in the face of next year’s both party and State elections.
It was seen as to “pacify” Joniston who was appointed Information Chief after his defeat to Dr Joachim.
Before that party election, Joniston was secretary-general. He was replaced by Matunggong Assemblywoman Datuk Julita Mojungki who was seen as Dr Maximus Ongkili’s “Ma Cai”.
So much for PBS, more recently Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) also had its AGM.
As expected, Datuk Chin Su Yin was returned unopposed as party president. Chin was former party president and Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat’s confidante and “Ma Cai”.
LDP stood against GRS’ predecessor PN in the 2020 State election and failed to win a single seat, including Chong himself losing in Inanam which was won by PKR. And yet, Chief Minister Hajiji Noor accepted LDP into the State’s ruling coalition GRS, which he leads, this year. What does it show?
Well, this is Hajiji’s leadership style – Having an extra friend is better than having an extra enemy.
In fact, soon after becoming CM, Hajiji appointed Chong as a Tourism Advisor (something like that).
I don’t know whether if Chong still holds that post but that is beside the point.
In his speech at the LDP Congress, Hajiji revealed that when Chong became CM in 2001, he appointed Hajiji as Assistant Finance Minister, something which proved useful for Hajiji as he eventually became Finance Minister cum CM in 2020.
The fact that Hajiji mentioned this shows that he is not someone who easily forgets friends or those who had helped him.
That is Hajiji.
It was perhaps this style of his that made certain people unhappy and tried to unseat him early last year.
But those who tried to topple him failed and failed miserably. “Miserably” because Hajiji emerged from that episode even stronger.
Infact, Hajiji even gained a few Assemblymen from the plotter’s own party plus support from PH. Miscalculation on somebody’s part, it seems.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim described Hajiji’s survival as due to his ‘Silat Moves’ and gave his blessings for Hajiji to continue as CM, sending a message to the plotters of the failed coup including former Sabah leaders hoping to make a comeback.
Hajiji’s own party, PGRS (not to be confused with the ruling coalition GRS), also had its AGM recently.
Speaking to reporters after officiating the AGM, Hajiji said his administration was committed to maintaining Sabah’s independent political course while keeping the door open to constructive cooperation.
The GRS-PH Plus government has firm control over Sabah’s direction but we welcome future collaboration with other political parties for the benefit of the State, he added.
“We can cooperate with other parties for the good of Sabah but we do not want others to determine our future,” he said making clear that Sabah’s autonomy in decision-making is paramount.
He was obviously referring to a reported possible tie-up between BN and PH to face the coming State election.
Meanwhile, PGRS deputy president Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun who officiated the party’s women, youth and Beliawanis wings a day earlier chided Umno president Ahmad Zahid for suggesting that the BN-PH collaboration in the Sabah election will be a lab to test the cooperation between the two national parties.
“I am calling for an end to treating Sabah as a political laboratory and for the region to be respected for her contributions to Malaysia,” Masidi stated.
“Please respect Sabah. My message is, respect Sabahans. If your look at the political history of Sabah, there have instances whereby we are a subject of political experiments. For all the contributions that we are making to the country, especially in terms of wealth and oil, I think we deserve to be not just being a place to experiment with politics,” he said.
Just like Hajiji, Masidi is an outspoken Sabah leader. Just like Hajiji, Sabahans can depend on Masidi to defend them.
After the 2008 national election in which BN lost it two-thirds majority for the first time since 1969, then DPM and Deputy Umno president Najib Tun Razak described Sabah as “BN’s Fixed Deposit” as almost all the BN (more exact to say Umno) candidates there won except for a few Chinese seats.
Masidi, despite being an Umno Minister in Sabah at that time, answered Najib saying: “Ya, Fixed Deposit, but if we can get higher interests elsewhere?
That shut Najib up. Sabahans can also depend on Masidi to defend their ethnicity.
Many years ago, a top State religious officer suggested that Muslim KDM in Sabah should “Memelayukan” (Malaynised) themselves.
Masidi fired back saying “I may be a Muslim but I will always be a Dusun. So don’t tell me to “Memelayukan” myself.
Masidi is a Dusun from Ranau. Hajiji’s wife is also a Dusun.
To be fair, Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) president Tan Sri Anifah Aman also replied Najib in 2008, saying “We in BN are all staying in the same house.
But we are given a small room. If we can find a bigger room elsewhere?” (Something like that) Anifah then rejected his appointment as a Deputy Minister, something which not many politicians will do.
Anifah’s ‘bravery’ earned the respect of Najib who, when he replaced Pak Lah as PM in 2009, promoted Anifah to a full Federal Minister. Anifah was the first Sabahan to be Malaysian Foreign Minister and he held the post until 2028.
While he was Foreign Minister, quite a few Sabah journalists had the chance to observe the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
It was a Once-in-a-Lifetime chance for the Sabahans and I expect them to be grateful forever. Their trip was arranged by the Foreign Ministry on the instruction of Anifah.
Meanwhile, although the final decision rested with PM Najib, I think Anifah played a very important role in appointing former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok as Malaysia’s first Resident Ambassador to the Vatican in Rome in 2016.
When then opposition leader and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim came over to Sabah to campaign in the 2022 national election, Anifah was with him giving moral support.
So I view Anifah’s appointment as a Senator as a ‘reward’ for him from Anwar.
Actually a Senator has no constituency so the people of Lauan have no right to demand that it be given to someone from Labuan.
There is already an elected Labuan MP in Suhaili.
Labuan came into the picture just for convenience purpose, so-called quota but there is no law saying that he must come from Labuan.
Similarly, a Nominated State Assemblyman has no constituency. So it is not right to say: “The Nominated Assemblyman from ”
Before Anifah was made a Senator, he was appointed Special Investment Advisor (something like that) by CM Hajiji.
He also became Chairman of Invest Sabah when the GLC was formed. Mind you, this was before PCS was even admitted into GRS.
This makes Hajiji special.
He knows how to recognise and make good use of talent. Of course now PCS is officially in GRS. Just like LDP, PCS also failed to win a single seat in 2020 but again this is Hajiji.
He got his own political style and he knows how to utilise talent even if the guy fought against his party before. PCS had its AGM a few months ago and Anifah was returned unopposed as president.
Editor: This article has appeared in the Daily Express.
The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Talantang.com
