Although its immediate rivals — Pakatan Harapan, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Barisan Nasional — have yet to finalise their alliances, PN looks set to come up against a formidable grand coalition in the election, he added.
He said PN’s most likely “poster boy” for the state polls is expected to be former minister and Beluran MP Ronald Kiandee.
However, he said Kiandee, a Bersatu vice-president, would struggle to draw voters due to his lack of prominence in PN and the party.
“Aside from Kiandee, there is no figure in Bersatu or PAS who can compete with the popularity of the leaders in GRS, especially those in Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS), most of whom were formerly from Bersatu and Umno.
“PN should seek to form an alliance with local parties to get stronger support, rather than go solo,” he told FMT.
Lack of relevance
However, Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs is doubtful of PN’s ability to forge any meaningful political alliance. He said there appears to be no suggestion that parties were courting Sabah PN as an ally for the polls.
Oh said PN has struggled to remain relevant in Sabah, especially following an exodus of Sabah Bersatu leaders led by current chief minister Hajiji Noor shortly after the 2022 general election.
“As Bersatu is neither leading the federal nor state government, it is not in a position to dish out largesse. It falls, perhaps, on PAS to lead the weakened coalition.
“It remains to be seen to what extent PAS’s religiously conspicuous political position can make inroads into Sabah, in particular in the interiors,” he said.
At Bersatu’s general assembly on Sunday, PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said the coalition’s top leadership will in the near future discuss its chief ministerial candidate and whether to go solo or enter into an alliance with other parties for the state polls.
The former prime minister also pledged to champion each and every demand under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), saying it would form the core of PN’s state election manifesto.
MA63-centric manifesto nothing special
Bilcher, however, dismissed Muhyiddin’s promise as unspectacular, saying MA63 is expected to feature prominently in every party’s campaign.
“MA63 is going to be the core of every party’s manifesto as it is the reason behind the slow pace of Sabah’s development.”
Oh agreed, saying MA63 was a convenient and popular election pledge for contesting parties to take on compared to the “more arduous vow” of implementing infrastructural improvements in Sabah.
He, however, said it was odd for PN, a coalition comprising mostly West Malaysia-based parties, to champion MA63 for Sabahans.
Bilcher also said PN should consider naming younger candidates alongside veteran politicians to attract votes from among the state’s youth.