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As Sabah enters its final leg of a heated campaign ahead of its 17th state election, an analyst warns that parties across the spectrum are increasingly leaning on emotional narratives surrounding the state’s 40% revenue entitlement, and its place under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) to sway voters.
Dr. Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow of Academy Nusantara of Strategic Research said that despite their differing political platforms, both major and minor parties have fixated on the same two issues — the long-debated 40% revenue return and Sabah’s autonomy — but many are framing the debate by presenting themselves as the sole legitimate defenders of Sabah’s interests.
He noted that several parties are aggressively projecting a “Sabah-first” image by accusing opponents of being submissive to Peninsular Malaysia, a tactic he described as emotionally charged and largely disconnected from factual analysis.
“Sabahan voters are being told that certain parties are the only ones ‘fighting for Sabah’ while others supposedly bow to Malaya. This is emotional manipulation, not a reflection of reality,” he said.
According to Azmi, some campaign rhetoric has escalated into extreme claims that the federal government is denying Sabah’s rights, without addressing the complexity of negotiations or acknowledging that federal allocations have consistently flowed to the state — often in amounts larger than those received by many Peninsular states.
He warned that such narratives risk misleading voters, especially when delivered without evidence.
“Sabahans must be discerning. Not everything said on the campaign trail is true,” he stressed.
“The notion that Sabah remains backwards solely because of the federation ignores the need for the state to reflect on its own governance and long-standing internal issues.”
He then emphasised that it is overly simplistic to blame Putrajaya for decades of Sabah’s development challenges without examining the state’s own policies, leadership decisions and administrative performance.
“How long can Sabah continue with this cycle — blaming the federal government for everything, yet not scrutinising its own role? After decades, it is not enough to rely on emotional rhetoric,” he added.
He urged voters to evaluate campaign promises critically and to demand realistic, evidence-based plans rather than political slogans designed merely to provoke sentiment.
The Election Commission has set Nov 25 for early voting, with the official campaign period running from Nov 15 until Nov 28.
The Sabah State Assembly was dissolved on Oct 6 October, clearing the way for the polls.
Approximately 1.78 million voters are expected to cast their ballots. – November 25, 202