Another political crisis would be disastrous for the state economy and for the push to reclaim state rights under the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63), said Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir.

“Now is not the right time for another change of government in Sabah,” he told FMT.

“This is going to be a difficult year for the economy. Sabah, like other states in the country, has yet to fully recover from the impact of Covid-19.”

He said political stability was paramount to economic recovery.

Jeniri also said Hajiji had been doing his job since taking office in 2020 and should be allowed to complete his term.

Last year, Sabah garnered RM6.6 billion in revenue, representing its best performance ever.

“On the political front, Hajiji has not only manoeuvred the state through a tricky political landscape but he has built a strong, Sabah-based coalition in Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS),” Jeniri said.

“No West Malaysian party has any control over Sabah now, and GRS is a partner in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.”

GRS has regained some of Sabah’s rights under MA63, and Jeniri said political stability was key in this.

Recently, Putrajaya announced it would grant Sabah and Sarawak autonomy over infrastructure projects worth RM50 million or less.

This came a few weeks after the federal government said it would hand over the regulatory power of Sabah’s gas supply to the state.

Another analyst, Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya, also said the focus should be on reviving the economy rather than politicking and power-grabbing.

“The people will get tired of political parties and politicians who engage in excessive politicking,” he said.

“The state’s economic recovery will lose its momentum and it is the people who will suffer.”