COMMENT | The 14-day official campaign period will finally end tonight. But the truth is, Sabah has been living in campaign mode since Oct 6, when the state assembly was dissolved.

By the time Sabahans walk into school halls tomorrow morning, they will have gone through 54 straight days of rallies, videos, claims, counterclaims, and carefully choreographed outrage, the longest election period, official or otherwise, in Sabah’s history.

For journalists, it has been punishing.

It meant early mornings before the sun warmed the hills, and writing until the light from the laptop was the only thing left awake. It meant rushing from one district to another through long, dark stretches of road while trying to file three stories in between signal drops.

One dawn, driving back from Lahad Datu in the early hours...