Tony Paridi Bagang and Francis Paul Siah said that the state government’s performance was a key issue for Sabahans in the wake of the party’s defeat in the Kimanis parliamentary by-election on Saturday.
“As a local party, Warisan isn’t just expected to be vocal, they must deliver on an efficient and effective administration. They must be able to walk the talk,” said Bagang, who is with the Sabah campus of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
He said when Warisan and its Pakatan Harapan allies swept to power in 2018 there were huge expectations.
A quick solution to the long-standing illegal immigrant problem was expected, together with the fulfilment of promises on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and oil royalties.
But these expectations have not been met, though efforts were being made, Bagang said.
The loss in Kimanis should be a strong warning to the Warisan-led state government, he added.
BN candidate Mohamad Alamin of Sabah Umno became the new Kimanis MP, being elected with a comfortable majority of 2,029 votes against his rival, Karim Bujang of Warisan.
Siah, who leads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS), said Sabah’s voters were politically mature. They had no difficulty in booting out governments which did not serve their interests, such as the previous governments run by Usno, Berjaya and Barisan Nasional.
“Don’t mess with Sabahan voters, most of them are very sensitive to economic issues and performance. Unfortunately for Warisan, they are seen as being part of PH and in this case, PH has not been performing.”
He said had PPBM contested Kimanis instead of Warisan, they would have suffered a much bigger loss, while if a local opposition party stood instead of Umno, that party would have won by a bigger margin.
State sentiments were a factor but not necessarily the primary factor.
“To put it into context, even with Umno weakened so much in Sabah by defections to PPBM, they still received the votes, even from the Kadazandusun and Chinese community.
“To me, this was a clear rejection of Warisan, particularly over the Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS), and not necessarily a show of support for BN.”
The PSS, scheduled to be implemented in June is intended to replace three different identification papers held by migrants in Sabah, but this has been opposed by many parties who say it contravenes the Immigration Act.
Siah said BN should not be overconfident as its victory in Kimanis could well be a “one-off” performance.
They should leave Sabah to their Sabah partners, if BN wanted to recapture power in the state.
“If BN can group the Sabah opposition parties, with Sabah Umno leaders joining a Sabah-based party and minus PAS which Sabahans cannot accept, they can form a new coalition like Gabungan Parti Sarawak.”