SABAH POLLS | In Peninsular Malaysia, an election campaign trail is often a serious affair but in Sabah, the run-up to this state election has taken on a colourful twist. Even the spike in Covid-19 cases did not dampen the mood.

During ceramah sessions, politicians often sing and dance in their bid to win the hearts and minds of voters.

Even DAP deputy secretary-general Teresa Kok put on her dancing shoes together with the party’s candidate for Kapayan, Jannie Lasimbang, during an event.

At Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) events in Tambunan, politicians and supporters gyrate to the party song, "Ini Kalilah Menang".

For Umno’s Melalap candidate Jamawi Jaafar, one village turned an original Sabahan number into a campaign song for him to express their support.

Also, a common feature during these events is karaoke sessions.

Events in Sabah are also replete with symbolic gestures for political parties on both sides of the divide to flex their muscles and showcase their support.

For example, when members switch parties, it becomes a public spectacle where the defectors, upon submitting their membership application forms, would be given their new party shirts.

The defectors would then change to this shirt on stage.

Aside from the festive atmosphere during the ceramah sessions, the publicity campaigns are also creative and at times, border on mischievousness.

One of the popular sentiments is against defectors, referred to as “frogs.” Warisan Plus has gone to town on this issue, which had led to the snap state election.

Billboards in Keningau and Sandakan depict an upturned frog stabbed with several darts.

One of the captions reads, “Strengthen Sabah, let’s make frogs into ‘snacks’." (Kukuhkan Sabah, katak kita jadikan pusas).

The word pusas, in particular, is meant to appeal to the Kadazan Dusun Murut community as it is a Dusun word which refers to snacks during drinking sessions.

On a more morbid note, another billboard caption states: “Strengthen Sabah, let's make the frogs deceased.” (Kukuhkan Sabah, katak kita jadikan arwah)

Frogs, the four-legged variant, also paid the ultimate price for the actions of their two-legged cousins when DAP hosted a frog-themed dinner at a restaurant in Kota Kinabalu.

During the event themed “Bitter Gourd Frog Rice Fiesta”, candidates and parliamentarians were seen roasting frogs on skewers.

Former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman had attempted a coup in late July, saying he had garnered enough support from state representatives who had defected from Warisan Plus to form a new government.

However, this attempt was thwarted by incumbent Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, who received approval from the Sabah governor to dissolve the state assembly and call for a snap election.

Polling for the Sabah election will be held tomorrow, Sept 26.

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