There are 56 independents, and there’s a possibility that one, two or three of them can be an “Ace”.
Six assemblymen, who are party-less or not fielded by their party, are defending their seats. They ditched the Warisan Plus government, forcing the dissolution of the state assembly.
SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee contended that an independent stood a chance of winning, especially in a rural constituency where personality overshadows parties.
“If voters feel that none of the candidates in a multi-cornered fight is going to get a clear majority, they could vote for an independent with a good record serving the constituents and has sufficient support on the ground, ” said the president of the Perikatan Nasional coalition partner.
Yong gave the remote and poverty-stricken Kuamut, a Sungai-majority seat, as an example.
“Upko (which is part of Warisan Plus) is not strong in the constituency as its assemblyman and leaders have left it. And its main contender, Umno, is fielding a candidate who doesn’t fit the ethnic and social profile of that constituency, ” the former Sabah chief minister said.
“The independent is Datuk Masiung Banah (who won the Kuamut seat under Upko, jumped to Warisan and ditched it to support Tan Sri Musa Aman as chief minister) who fits the credentials of what a Kuamut assemblyman should be.”
Yong continued: “Assuming that Masiung kept his network and has sufficient support; he could cause an upset.”
Warisan leader Martin Tommy doesn’t think that Masiung can retain Kuamut.
“The people are fed up. He has betrayed the mandate that has been given to Warisan Plus to govern Sabah. The voters want Warisan Plus to complete its unfinished term, ” said the former independent who nearly won the Pensiangan parliament seat when he lost to a Barisan Nasional candidate by 808 votes in 2004.
When asked the chances of an indie win, Martin said, “nil”.
He believes that a party-less politician would lose because voters would not support a candidate who can’t develop the constituency.
However, Martin said if there was an independent who could snatch a victory, it would be Datuk Rubin Balang.
Rubin is the former five-term Kemabong assemblyman who won the seat under a PBS ticket in 1994. He jumped to join Umno, causing the fall of the Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan government.
Martin said Rubin of Bersatu might be the exception as he is the Sabah Murut Association president who is contesting in Kemabong, a Murut-majority seat.
Yong agreed that there was a likelihood that the former Kemabong assemblyman could make a comeback if he managed to keep his core support.
“In a six-cornered fight, you only need 25% to 38% of the total votes to win, ” he said.
Other than Kemabong and Kuamut, independent candidates have a chance of winning in Bengkoka, Sukau and Tempasuk.
There’s a possibility that the Jokers in the pack could be Aces instead.
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