In Sabah there are 24 political parties claiming and fighting to represent 1.78 million registered voters from a population of 3.6 million Sabahans that comes from 30 ethnics and sub-ethnics in Sabah.
In the coming 17th Sabah State Election, 596 individuals registered as candidates vying for 73 seats.
In the previous state elections, the 16th State election in 2020, 447 candidates vied for the same number of seats, 73 seats.
596 candidates claims that they wish to represent the people of Sabah and to fight for better governance and improved living for them.
How qualified are these 596 candidates?
For this round, 149 new entrants aspiring to be state assemblymen claimed that they registered as candidates because they wish to represent the people of Sabah who have been deprived of a lot of their basic needs for the last few decades.
The quantity of candidates in an election does not assure and ensure that these candidates geninely dedicate themselves solely to the voters i.e the Sabahans who will vote for them respectively.
It is indeed baffling why all of a sudden, there are so many aspirants who believed that they are the best suited to represent Sabahans.
Or these candidates were throwing their hats into the ring believing that a win for them is basically a route for the candidate to enrich him or herself in the near future.
Where were these 149 new candidates aspiring to be representatives for ordinary Sabahans, all this while?
Performing social and voluntary work for the people that they now claimed they wish to represent for the next 5 years?
The incumbent 73 assemblymen have been in politics for no less than 10 years, some as the government or opposition.
For that period, have they brought and contributed to the progress of Sabah except constantly bickering amongst themselves as if children fighting for sweets or toys?
Why all of a sudden there are so many Sabahans waking up and felt that their representatives before this state election were not doing enough to help Sabah and the Sabahans?
From the look of it, thes politicians are playing a very dangerous game for their own benefit and not for the people of Sabah.
Yes Pairin was right.
Conveniently, Pairin failed to mention that he was also presiding and administering the state where the political “disease” weakening Sabah that he said must be identified and removed before it worsened.
Why didn’t he nipped it in the bud or he is claiming that it did not happen during his time or is he claiming that during his time, the issue was not widespread as it is now?
It is obvious that the politicians are not giving priority to REALLY looking after the interests of the ordinary Sabahans.
They are employing scorched earth tactics.
Politicians employing them have little regard for the general welfare of the public.
It is clear as daylight that the 149 new candidates were fielded by the existing politicians as "spoiler" candidates to split the opposition's votes.
While the term "scorched earth tactics" in a political context generally refers to strategies designed to cripple an opponent or make an issue toxic for a successor, the act of splitting votes with a dummy candidate aligns with the broader aim of damaging the opposition by any available means.
Scorched earth tactics prioritize extreme measures and potentially long-term damage to achieve short-term victory.
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