KOTA KINABALU: Pakatan Harapan (PH) did not expect to lose significant support from its loyal Chinese voters in today's 17th Sabah State Election, a development that serves as an important signal for the coalition to reassess its strategy ahead of the 16th General Election (GE16).
Sabah PKR Chairman Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said the coalition’s current performance in the state, particularly the shift in Chinese voter sentiment, requires a thorough analysis to understand the causes.
“Yes, we honestly did not expect to lose a rather substantial, a rather large number of our loyal voters among the Chinese community.
“So that is why we need to conduct a post-mortem after this. What exactly happened? For me, this is a wake-up call for Pakatan Harapan, especially Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), for us to re-evaluate our strategy,” he told reporters at the Chief Minister’s Sri Gaya residence here tonight.
He said the lessons learnt from this election outcome provide PH with an opportunity to refine its approach and strategies early before facing GE16.
“For preparations ahead of the 16th General Election, I think it is good that we detected these issues early so that we can devise strategies to win back our loyal voters and secure their support for Pakatan Harapan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mustapha confirmed his presence at the venue was in line with PKR’s official stance, as previously announced by the party’s Secretary-General, regarding the formation of the state government.
“We are prepared to be part of the new state government that will be formed soon, and to support Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as our upcoming Chief Minister, insya-Allah,” he said.
Sabah DAP failed to win any of the eight seats it contested in this election, while PKR won only one of the 13 seats it contested. Amanah, meanwhile, failed to secure the sole seat it contested, the Sulabayan seat.
