Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Bung Moktar Radin says the coalition’s fall in 2018 was not due to rejection at the ballot box but triggered by several assemblymen defecting after results were announced.
He said the move undermined political stability and “betrayed the people’s mandate” that had given BN a majority through a lawful democratic process.
In a statement, the Sabah Umno chief asserted that history shows BN in Sabah did not lose via the popular mandate, but because “a handful of representatives refused to stand with BN at the federal level when it became the opposition”.
He urged Sabahans to treat the episode as a lesson and not allow party-hopping to decide the state’s future.
Bung Moktar warned of “democratic fatigue”, or public weariness with unprincipled and inconsistent politics.
“Each episode of party-hopping injures the social contract between the people and leaders. A government born of betrayal cannot foster confidence; without confidence, there can be no durable stability.”
He stressed that stability comes from leadership integrity and institutional strength.
“Umno and BN bring two essentials to modern administration: policy consistency and institutional continuity. Development cannot be built on political chaos; investment needs stability, policy needs continuity, and the people need confidence.”
He called on Sabah to leave behind “experimental politics” and return to visionary leadership and governance grounded in reason and stability.
