Sun, 9 Feb 2025
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Hajiji’s style makes it hard to rock the boat
Published on: Sunday, June 30, 2024
Published on: Sun, Jun 30, 2024
By: Datuk Teddy Chin
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Hajiji’s style makes it hard to rock the boat
Left to right: Hajiji, Zahid, Rahman and Christina Liew at the event last week.
“MUSUH kamu, itu urusan kamu” (Your enemy is your problem).

With these words, Umno President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi declared open the Annual Delegates Conference of Tuaran Umno recently.

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But who is the enemy? Without naming anybody, the Deputy PM was obviously referring to his “friends” who tried to persuade him not to attend the Tuaran Umno AGM.

“Some friends advised me to reconsider my decision to officiate the Tuaran Umno meeting due to the presence of the Sabah Chief Minister, friends from GRS and leaders from PH (Pakatan Harapan).

“That was their advice, but I performed ‘Istikarah’ (seeking guidance through prayer), and regardless of who attends, they are my friends.

“Once friends, now enemies and vice-versa. Politics is dynamic.

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“Therefore, I highly respect the presence of the Chief Minister (Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor) at this Umno event,” he added, to tremendous applause.

The Sabah Umno Chairman (Datuk Seri Bung Moktar) was not present. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who is Hajiji’s political enemy referred to by the Deputy PM.

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The presence of the CM at an Umno function is his first since the infamous “coup” early last year when a group of Sabah Umno leaders pulled out their support for Hajiji. For two years after the Sept 2020 State election, Umno was part of the GRS+ State government.

But the coup failed when some of the Umno assemblymen themselves and PH (DAP + PKR + Upko) declared support for Hajiji. DAP and PKR also got a Cabinet post each in a reshuffle within days after the coup.

Soon after which, a few Warisan (former ruling party) assemblymen also jumped to support the GRS government. DAP and PKR plus Upko were part of the Warisan+ government from 2018 till the 2020 election. 

PM Datuk Seri Anwar said Hajiji survived the coup due to his “silat” (martial art) moves. Today, the GRS+ government is in a comfortable position.

Needless to say, since this incident GRS, Umno, Warisan, KDM and PBRS have been having a cold war. Although all are components of the PH+ unity government at the Federal level. Although their leaders meet at coalition functions in KL, but their body language you know I know lah.

Since last year, just the thought of the CM cum GRS chairman attending an Umno Sabah function is unthinkable. Infact at the Umno AGM in KL after the coup last year, Zahid in his speech even declared support for Sabah Umno leaders who staged the coup.

Despite that, Hajiji in his reshuffled Cabinet last year allowed a few Umno assemblymen to remain. Only one Umno Minister (Shahelmey) remained but we all know that he was Umno only in name. Shahelmey has been suspended by Umno since. Minister Datuk James Ratib was also officially with Umno at the time of his appointment early last year but he has since joined Hajiji’s PGRS. 

Hajiji did not have to appoint a single Umno Minister or Assistant Minister after the coup but then again this is Hajiji. As Anwar said, this is Hajiji’s “silat”. It is up to those appointed to reject their posts but no one did. 

The “Cold War” between GRS and Umno went on for more than a year since early last year. Thus, Hajiji’s presence at the Tuaran Umno Meet recently took everyone by surprise including Umno members especially Zahid.

One local Chinese newspaper titled their story on Hajiji’s presence as “Ice-Breaking”. It doesn’t matter who initiated the move or who broke the ice. It was certainly something good for the people of Sabah in general and Tuaran in particular.

Making up is not easy to do especially when Hajiji has the upper hand but this is Hajiji who is known to befriend even his opponents.  Unfortunately, some prefer to view his easy-going style and friendliness as weakness. 

Hajiji is a former Tuaran Umno chief and had been a Sulaman (part of Tuaran) Assemblyman representing Umno from 1994 to 2018. 

It must have been nostalgic for him to walk into the hall recently, just like it was nostalgic for Anwar when he entered the Umno building in KL for the first time last year after a quarter of a century.

Hajiji was personally invited by present Tuaran Umno Chairman Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan. When Hajiji was Tuaran Umno chief, Rahman was his deputy including when the latter was Kota Belud MP for almost ten years. 

Furthermore, the two are related. Rahman’s father, Datuk Dahlan, was Hajiji’s uncle. Something like that. The senior Dahlan was Sulaman Assemblyman during USNO and Berjaya time. Blood is thicker than water.

Now that the ice has been broken, will it mean a possible collaboration towards the next State election due next year? Anything is possible. As Zahid himself said, politics is dynamic. 

It is an open secret that some leaders in Sabah Umno wants to work with GRS while the others want Warisan. Who will win in this tug-of-war? 

Too early to say. Let’s just wait. But if Zahid’s speech in Tuaran and Hajiji’s presence is anything to go by, your guess is as good as mine. 

Both were seen as offering an olive branch. Someone said that this is to “checkmate” Warisan who was supposed to form a coalition government with Umno had the coup succeeded last year.

But is Sabah Umno acceptable to GRS, especially Hajiji, after the failed coup? An insider told me that when they say Sabah Umno, it is not necessarily under the present Sabah Umno leadership setup. Anything can happen in politics.

What fuelled speculation was when the Putatan Umno division on the same day passed a resolution urging the party leadership to retain the present State Liaison Chairman and to lead Sabah Umno in the upcoming State election. 

Why the need for the sudden resolution, asked a political analyst. Something seems to be cooking, he added. 

The relationship between the present chairman and Rahman is an open secret. After the dissolution of the State Assembly in 2020, and after Zahid announced the person in charge to lead Sabah Umno in the election, Rahman called a press conference in Kuala Lumpur to register his disagreement, asking what is the rationale to ask someone who had a court case to lead? But Rahman was overruled by Zahid. Rahman was accompanied by many Sabah Umno divisional chiefs during the press conference.

But after things cooled down following the election, perhaps to please Rahman, he was appointed the new Sabah Umno deputy head, replacing Yacob Khan.

Rahman also has his influence in Umno Malaysia. He is a party supreme council member. On top of that, Rahman was a senior Umno Minister until the party’s defeat in 2018. He was even BN Strategic Communication director or something like that.

Meanwhile, what exactly is in Zahid’s mind? What game is he playing? 

In his speech at Sepanggar Umno meet the same day, the Sabah Umno leader said Umno cannot work with PBS who stabbed BN in the past. He didn’t say that Umno cannot work with GRS.

I am puzzled. For argument sake, didn’t Umno abandon GRS (then PPBM) last year? This is a case of kettle calling the pot black.

In the event that GRS accept Umno as a partner in the next election, I don’t think GRS can accept such a “condition”. PBS has been a loyal component of GRS since 2020 and I don’t foresee GRS dropping PBS in favour of Umno.

Besides, PBS has teamed up with Star and they are now a formidable force in the KDM areas. They can stand on their own tickets if they want to and renegotiate the position in the government after the election. 

Or maybe this is just Sabah Umno’s game to avoid working with GRS and work with Warisan instead? Knowing that GRS would not drop PBS? Zahid will have the last say in the case of Umno’s choice. I trust his wisdom, given his speech in Tuaran especially when he said: “Your enemy is your problem”. You don’t have to be a genius to know what he meant or who he was referring to. 

An analyst said Zahid’s presence’s in Tuaran was actually a slap in the face of those who advised him against going. That again fuelled speculation which led to Putatan Umno’s resolution. 

That having been said, the next focus for Sabah politicians will be when would be the next State election? The election is not due until late next year but I suppose all parties will be on their feet from now on.

In other words, election can be anytime now. After all, there is such a thing called a Snap election.

But a Snap ection can work both ways. It is a double-edged sword. As the Malay saying goes, “Nanti senjata makan tuan”.

To understand that, let us take a quick look at Sabah’s past snap elections. 

In late 1975, soon after the formation of Parti Berjaya, there were two by-elections in Labuan and Kinabatangan. Labuan was still under Sabah then.

I can’t say whether the elections were ‘forced’ by the ruling Usno. But to cut the long story short, Usno won both. The Berjaya candidate in Labuan was party deputy president Datuk Harris Salleh, a former Usno Minister. The Berjaya president was the late Tun Fuad Stephens.

The Berjaya candidate in Kinabatangan was Abdullah Hussein. I stand to be corrected.

Encouraged by the by-election victories, the Usno-led Alliance government called for a snap general election in early 1976. The idea was to deny time and space for the newly-formed Berjaya to grow. Berjaya (28 seats) won, thanks to the Chinese and KDM-majority seats against Usno’s 20 (Muslim-majority seats). SCA, Usno’s Chinese component, lost all the seats it contested.

In late 1984, there was this by-election in Tambunan caused by the ‘resignation’ of Berjaya Assemblyman Tan Sri (then Datuk) Joseph Pairin Kitingan. 

Standing on an Independent ticket, Pairin won. He defeated Roger Ongkili, his relative. Roger was younger brother of the late Datuk Dr James Ongkili, former Berjaya Minister and elder brother of Dr Maximus Ongkili who until May 31 was the PBS president.

Early 1985, Pairin applied for the registration of PBS. Alarmed by this and Pairin’s victory in Tambunan, Berjaya dissolved the Assembly. The registration of PBS was approved just a week or two before Nomination Day.

PBS won with a simple majority of 25 seats. The lone Pasok victor in Moyog declared support for PBS, giving it 26.

But not all snap elections work against the ruling party.

In early 1986, PBS had no choice to dissolve the Assembly following the defections of six assemblymen. Despite Sabah’s political history, PBS won more seats than 1985. This was because Sabahans’ sympathy was with PBS. None of the “frogs” won.

Early 1990, PBS dissolved the Assembly again following the arrests of a few Sabahans including Datuk Dr Benedict Topin who is now Chairman of the Sabah Native Affairs Council. PBS won this election comfortably. 

Early 1994, PBS called for a snap election again although they did not have to do so until 1995. Rumours had it that it was before KL had a chance to redraw the constituencies, you know what I mean.

It was a costly mistake on the part of PBS this time. While they won comfortably in 1986 and 1990, this time they won only 25, exactly like 1985, amid accusations of phantom voters benefitting PBS’ rivals.

With such a razon-thin majority, it was only a matter of time that the PBS government would collapse. True enough, collapse it did less than two months when three assemblymen jumped. Pairin resigned as CM. More jumped and the rest is history.

In 2020, the then ruling Warisan+ called for a snap election following a failed ‘coup’ led by a former BN/Umno leader. 

It was a blessing in disguise because BN/Umno with the help of Bersatu (PPBM), Star and PBS won. After the election, the new GRS+ government was formed with PPBM leader Hajiji as CM.

Let’s take a quick look at the 2020 State election results by parties.

Let’s start with the then ruling Warisan Plus. Their anchor party Warisan led by CM Datuk Shafie Apdal fielded 46 candidates and won only half which is 23. 

Upko fielded 12 and won 1. DAP fielded 7 and won 6. PKR fielded 7 and won 2. Amanah fielded 1 and won 0. That gave Warisan+ 32.

Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS+) comprised Umno, PPBM (Bersatu), PBS, Star, PBRS, MCA and SAPP.

Umno fielded 32 and won 14. PPBM fielded 20 and won 11. PBS fielded 22 and won 7. Star fielded 7 and won 6. PBRS fielded 5, MCA 4, and SAPP 2. None of the last three won any seat.

In total, GRS won 38. However, the three Independents who won pledged their support for GRS. That gave them 41. Together with the 6 Nominated, they actually had 47 after formation of the government. 

The other parties who fielded candidates were Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) which contested in all 73 seats, LDP (46), Usno (47), PPRS (24), Gagasan (28), Harapan (5), Anak Negeri (2), and PKS (1). None of them won.

However, Umno never officially joined GRS because it was already a component party of BN along with MCA and PBRS. Umno pulled out of GRS+ last year.

However, the deficit caused by Umno’ pulling out was off set by PH’s 7 assemblymen – 4+2+1. DAP was left with only 4 after 2 left. Besides, not all Umno assemblymen left. Also later a few Warisan YBs supported GRS. So GRS’s majority in the Assembly even without Umno is till comfortable.

Hence on paper, GRS + PH should have no problem in winning the next election. The only question is by what margin. I don’t want to play God. 

For argument sake, if Umno indeed sides with GRS+, then it will even be more secure. But anything can happen, given what politics is. To borrow Zahid’s words, it’s “dynamic”. As to how many seats Warisan will get, especially if Umno teams up with it, again I don’t want to play God. May the best man wins.

Meanwhile, since the 2020 election, PPBM has been replaced with PGRS or Gagasan. Hajiji took over PGRS and became its new president. 

Together with GRS’ 3 original components (PBS, Star, SAPP), the coalition now has 8 components. Since becoming CM, Hajiji has added Usno, LDP, Harapan and,  recently, PCS, making GRS an 8-member coalition.

None of the new parties won any seat in the 2020 election. So why include them in the coalition? What is the rationale?

Again, this is part of Hajiji’s Silat Moves. Obviously, having an extra friend is better than having an extra enemy. Now at least five more parties including PGRS are with him. Wouldn’t that be nice? Rather than having 4 or 5 extra enemies? 

The fact that they didn’t win any seat in 2020 does not mean they will never win a seat. Upko won only one State seat in 2020 but was “resurrected” when it unexpectedly won two parliamentary seats in 2022. 

One Upko MP is even now a Federal Minister while the other is SESB chairman. 

Upko “left” Warisan Plus after 2020 and became aligned with Anwar’s PH towards 2022.

Soon after becoming CM, Hajiji gave Pandikar a government post when Usno was not even a GRS coalition yet. After admission as GRS member, he was given another post in TAED. 

Same thing with Anifah, also holding two posts even before PCS’ admission despite not winning.

This is Hajiji’s political style. It was perhaps this style of his that made certain people unhappy or uneasy which led to last year’s failed coup.

Well done, Hajiji, carry on. Even if they fought against you in 2020, they are also Sabahans and deserve to be treated as such. Sabah does not belong to members of the ruling party. It belongs to all Sabahans. Hajiji is a CM for all Sabahans and not just who only know how to “Angkat Kaki”. 

Sabah Maju Jaya. 

The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express.

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