COMMENT | A friend messaged me on the day the Sabah legislative assembly was dissolved on July 31, asking me to share my thoughts on the coming state elections.

My immediate reply was this: Why should 3.8 million Sabahans be made to suffer by having to go through another electoral process just because of the personal feud of their top two political leaders, and that of 60 good-for-nothing incorrigible parasites who care only for their personal ambition and lust for position and power?

When politicians quarrel, the people suffer. And that is sickening!

Isn’t it a fact that this snap election was called because of an attempted coup spearheaded by former chief minister Musa Aman against his arch-rival, Mohd Shafie Apdal?

Isn’t it a fact that it was principally about a long-standing feud between the duo which goes back some two decades into their days in Umno?

Isn’t it a fact too that it was all about jostling for position and power between the two warring camps and nothing about the interests of Sabahans? Well, the feuding politicians could shoot that down but I guess those looking at the situation on the outside usually have a more distinct view.

Oh, we only know too well what politicians will tell us – that they are fighting for the people, for a better Sabah and a better future for Sabahans. Most of us would have heard enough of such crap.

Not since the early Independence tussle for power in Sabah between Mustapha Harun and Donald Fuad Stephens have we seen any political wrangling of such intensity as the Musa-Shafie showdown today.

While Mustapha and Stephens never really patched up, their feud ended with the untimely death of Stephens in a plane crash in 1976.

The Harris Salleh-Joseph Pairin Kitingan clash that followed quickly subsided, even after violence rocked Kota Kinabalu momentarily, when Salleh and his Berjaya party became a spent force following two electoral defeats.

Musa (above) and Shafie were the products/beneficiaries of Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s ruthless plan in establishing Umno in Sabah in the early 90s to oust Pairin and his PBS government.

Both have enjoyed their exalted positions and good times in Umno’s playground and are familiar with the party’s style and tactics in political warfare.

This is why Musa and Shafie are the two most powerful political warlords, the top two shakers and movers of Sabah politics.

I was not surprised, but found it amazing nonetheless, that a lone Umno assemblyperson could gather a simple majority and stake a claim for the chief minister’s post. And this, in less than 50 days after he was acquitted by the court of multiple charges of corruption and money laundering.

I’m not sure I’ve heard of anyone achieving such a feat before in Malaysian political history. Musa, the Umno state rep from Sungai Sibuga, has the support of 33 state assembly members to be CM on July 30. This is the extraordinary power and influence Musa wields in Sabah.

Ming Court revolt

Musa’s failed coup last week reminds me of the infamous Ming Court revolt which took place in my homeland of Sarawak in 1987.

That attempted coup against then Sarawak chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud was led by the CM’s uncle, Abdul Rahman Yakub. Although Rahman had 28 state reps (out of 48 at that time) on his side, the coup failed because Taib quickly called for snap polls with the consent of Sarawak Governor Ahmad Zaidi Adruce.

Shafie (below) could possibly remember the Ming Court episode well.

Just as Sabah Governor Juhar Mahiruddin turned Musa away from the palace gates on July 31, Ahmad Zaidi refused to meet Rahman’s rebels at the Kuching Astana 33 years ago.

Taib eventually won the elections and sent his uncle into permanent political retirement.

What was the uncle-nephew feud all about? It was widely believed to be over timber concessions and other Sarawak’s resources for their own family members and cronies. I doubt the welfare and interests of Sarawakians were ever considered in their equation at all.

What is this Musa-Shafie fight all about? It would be unfair to speculate but I believe your guess will not be way off from mine.

A Sarawakian friend who has made Kota Kinabalu his home for years told me how he wished Shafie and Musa, both talented and experienced leaders, could set aside their differences and work together.

According to him, whatever misgivings people may have about them, there is no denying that both men are capable leaders and able to bring about changes and reforms for the greater good of Sabah and its people.

Unfortunately, it’s just sad that two tigers will find it impossible to live in the same cave, my friend added.

I do not see how the coming snap polls could translate into anything of benefit to Sabahans, just 26 months after they last voted.

The political instability will only worsen the agony and sufferings of Sabahans during these tumultuous times of the Covid-19 pandemic and economic meltdown.

If I were a Sabahan living away from my home state, I wouldn’t even bother to fly home and vote because for one, this election was totally unnecessary.

And two, I won’t let dishonourable politicians hurt me this time.

FRANCIS PAUL SIAH heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS), and can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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