KOTA KINABALU: A confident Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, hailed for the state’s sound financial management and state Barisan Nasional (BN) supremacy in the 2008 general election, is once again expected to spearhead the coalition in the coming polls against a disunited opposition in the state.
Firing the first salvo after the dissolution of the Dewan Rakyat and the Sabah Legislative Assembly yesterday, Musa, who is also the state BN chairman, called on the people of Sabah not to gamble away their future by experimenting with an opposition government.
“Think wisely before making a decision, and don’t gamble away the future of our children and the country,” Musa was quoted as saying.
The charismatic Musa led the state BN to a thumping victory in the last general election, capturing 24 of the 25 parliamentary seats and 59 of the 60 state seats, leaving the DAP with the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary and Sri Tanjung (Tawau) state seats.
With negotiations for a possible one-to-one contest or showdown between the BN and a united opposition front in Sabah making no headway, the BN is now in a better position to deliver another double political knockout to its opponents in both the parliamentary and state elections.
The seeds of disunity began to appear within the opposition when Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced here recently that Pakatan Rakyat would face the BN on its own without the support of the state-based parties in the coming general election in Sabah.
This did not go down well with the leaders of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), a local party that left the BN on Sept 17, 2008, which had been hoping for a strategic alliance to face the mighty BN election machinery.
In what is seen as a blow for the opposition, SAPP secretary-general Datuk Richard Yong had subsequently described Anwar’s announcement as implying that ‘PR is over-confident.’ — Bernama