PKR’s poor run in Sabah continues as DAP stunned

Pakatan Harapan component parties, PKR and DAP, failed to retain all 10 seats it had won in the last state election in 2020.
PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) saw a disappointing outcome in the 17th Sabah state election yesterday, winning just one seat despite fielding 22 candidates.
The coalition's sole victory came through PKR in the form of an assemblyman who had been parachuted in from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
This meant PKR's poor performance in Sabah continued, with nine other candidates being defeated.
Its ally, DAP suffered a disastrous outing too, being wiped out entirely, after losing all eight seats it had won in the last state elections in September 2020.
The other PH component, Amanah, also failed to secure a foothold in East Malaysia, even as its bitter rival PAS made history.
PKR had struggled for years to expand its influence beyond the two seats of Api-Api and Inanam, which it won in the 2013 general election (GE13) and retained in the last state polls. The party also holds the Sepanggar parliamentary seat, the only victory out of 10 contests in the 2022 general election (GE15).
Its sole win yesterday came in Melalap through Jamawi Jaafar, who was previously in Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah prior to his unveiling as a PKR candidate two weeks ago.
PKR dropped one of its most prominent Sabahan leaders, Christina Liew, in favour of the younger Thonny Chee in the polls and it proved to be a costly decision as Chee failed to retain Api-Api for the party.
The party fielded no other major figure with Sabah PKR chief Mustapha Sakmud sitting out the polls, supposedly to focus on his duties as deputy higher education minister and Sepanggar MP.
A lot of attention had fallen on PKR fielding Yamani Hafez Musa, the son of Musa Aman, the Sabah governor and a former chief minister. Yamani ended up losing the contest in Sindumin to Warisan's Yusri Pungut, albeit by just 362 votes.
The party had also gambled on another parachute candidate from GRS, George Hiew, but he lost by 676 votes to Warisan's Alex Wong.
The results will undoubtedly lead to pressure on the party leadership as they prepare for the next general election which is due in 2027.
DAP wiped out in Sabah
DAP was left stunned after failing to retain any of the eight seats it had won in the last state polls.
The wipe out of the party's big guns, including state DAP chief Phoong Jin Zhe, his deputy Chan Foong Hin, Sandakan MP Vivian Wong and two-term Kapayan assemblyman Jannie Lasimbang was most unexpected.
The party had headed into the polls appearing confident, having dominated in urban areas with a significant chunk of Chinese voters for several election cycles.
However, this time around, it lost most of its seats to Warisan, with Chinese votes significantly swinging toward the Shafie Apdal-led party.
DAP also suffered the impact of two former leaders, Frankie Poon and Liau Fui Fui, contesting under the Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat banner, as this is said to have split their votes and benefited Warisan in Elopura and Tanjong Papat.
Fellow PH ally Amanah endured similar fortunes, with its sole candidate failing to win in Sulabayan.
This means Amanah must continue to wait for its first ever seat in East Malaysia, as opposed to PAS, which won its first seat in Borneo yesterday.