With the Sabah state assembly dissolved on Monday, the 17th state election has moved into a “real action” phase. Behind-the-scenes strategies, potential alliances and quiet understandings are accelerating as parties finalise candidate slates for 73 seats.
Former Sabah Institute for Development Studies (IDS) CEO Anthony Kiob said political pacts are unavoidable. “With all seats contested, no single party can realistically form government alone. Alliances will emerge either openly before polling or discreetly after,” he said.
He noted that Sabah’s political DNA prioritises seat arithmetic, political survival and bargaining power over ideology. “Today’s foes may be tomorrow’s friends once numbers are known. Avoid personal attacks—you never know who you’ll need to work with.”
Kiob added that candidate strategy often blends “local–federal” considerations. Strategic cooperation with federal parties can unlock resources, funding and machinery, but overreliance on the centre may blunt autonomy messaging and trigger voter pushback.
Grassroots sentiment, he said, suggests voters trust local parties to grasp issues such as land, MA63 rights, rural development, federal intervention, unmet promises and the former chief minister rotation system. Still, standalone local parties face headwinds against federal incumbents or their allies; to compete, they must pool resources and build joint campaign machinery.
Political analyst Tony Paridi Bagang expects campaigns to frame the race as “local vs national” to mobilise Sabah’s strong sense of identity and autonomy.
“This election will test whether locally rooted governance sentiment can shape voting patterns and whether emotional ties to state parties outweigh pragmatic considerations of federal cooperation and resources,” he said.
He added that Sabah’s experience shows federalism remains central. “Even as calls for autonomy persist, pragmatic cooperation with the federal government underpins governance strategy, especially for development funding and political stability.”
