Opposition alliance won't work
Published on: Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Conflicting ideologies and self-ambition will be the downfall of Sabah's opposition parties in the 14th General Election (GE14), analysts have said.Amid ongoing squabbles between several on state opposition parties, analysts have shot down the possibility of a grand opposition alliance – saying that it would not work as none of them would be able to put aside their differences in time for GE14."The opposition in Sabah knows from paper or by theory that they must work together to avoid split votes – follow the BN model – but very unfortunately it won't happen," Universiti Malaysia Sabah political analyst Lee Kuok Tiung told Malay Mail Online.
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"The problem with opposition is that they fundamentally cannot work together. It's like making them 'kahwin paksa' (forced marriage). They have different supporters and niches and ideologies and that will not work in the long run," he said.Universiti Malaysia Sarawak political analyst Arnold Puyok said the idea of an opposition front was impossible and only brought up "to appease the opposition supporters" and that the main players of the opposition each had ambitions of their own "bargaining power"."You can only bargain when you have seats. And when you have bargaining power, you will have greater access to patronage resources or even switch your political alliance during changing political circumstances. This explains why it's difficult for the opposition leaders to unite as everyone is deeply driven by parochial interests," he said.
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"It looks like the opposition does not have a plan. They are quite unsure about what they are doing. They have so far failed to convince the people why they are the better alternative. The bickering among the opposition leaders have de-motivated a lot of people, including their supporters," Puyok added.
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With over 10 opposition Sabah parties clamouring for seats, votes are almost certain to be split not just in three corner fights, but possibly more as opposition parties yet to come to any kind of agreement on how to divide seats without overlapping, and are even engaged in petty squabbles over local issues.The situation is reminiscent of the 2013 elections when tension between local parties and the then-Pakatan Rakyat saw at least four-cornered fights in most seats. Although the opposition saw a big swing of votes in their favour, garnering 12 state and three parliamentary seats, their fractious nature has seen a lot of movement between parties since.Five PKR and two DAP members have since left the Pakatan Harapan alliance for different agendas.There are currently two major alliances – a national-based Pakatan Harapan and local alliance United Sabah Alliance or Gabungan consisting of four local parties – plus a host of other independent parties, including former Umno Vice President Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal's Parti Warisan Sabah."Since 2013 the opposition parties have split into smaller groups. But did the voter 'market' getting bigger? No, it's the same size of voters. Maybe a few more from newly registered voters, but with more parties fighting for the same number of voters, it will not bode well," said Lee."They have not gotten any better (since 2013). The two main ingredients for opposition politics to work are leadership and policy alternatives. The opposition leaders have so far failed to demonstrate that they are capable of providing good leadership and better policies," said Puyok.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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