MA63 issues to take centre stage if Kimanis by-election held, say analysts

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — Demands for the restoration of Sabah’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) is expected to be a key issue on the campaign trail if the Kimanis parliamentary seat by-election takes place, the Sunday Star reported today.

Political analyst Tony Paridi Bagang said this in view of a by-election which could take place in the constituency held by former foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman after the Election Court had on Friday declared his GE14 win on May 9 last year as null and void.

In September last year, Anifah claimed to have quit Umno to become an independent, in the interest of Sabah rights.

“MA63 will be the issue to be played up by the contesting parties.

“Before GE14, Anifah organised several programmes in relation to MA63 and Sabah autonomy. Since he is no longer with Umno, he is able to pursue his political struggles for Sabah freely in his own way,” said Bagang.

Prior to GE14, restoring Sabah and Sarawak to their original status as associate members in Malaysia (MA63) was among the promises made by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

However, in April, the Dewan Rakyat saw only 138 lawmakers supporting the move. This did not meet the necessary two-thirds required to restore Sabah and Sarawak to their original status in MA63.

But on July 25, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, whose Parti Warisan Sabah is a PH ally, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is expected to announce some good news with regard to Sabah’s rights under MA63.

It was reported that the Election Court said it had found serious breaches in the conduct of the election process with over 300 votes improperly cast.

Anifah retained the seat in GE14 with only a 156-vote majority over Datuk Karim Bujang of Warisan.

Anifah’s lawyers are expected to appeal within 14 days of the ruling.

The Election Commission (EC) has since said it will wait for the 14-day appeal period to end before deciding its next course of action.

“It would be interesting to see the dynamics of this. Kimanis is considered a Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno stronghold but after GE14, the popularity declined tremendously,” Bagang added.

Another analyst, Arnold Puyok, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, has also echoed similar sentiments, indicating that MA63 along with local issues will be at play.

“MA63 may resurface as Anifah is known as one of the leading personalities in Sabah who championed the issue,” he said.

Puyok, however, said it will be tough for Anifah if he has to face-off against Warisan’s Datuk Karim Bujang again in a by-election, as the latter is well known and popular in Kimanis.

He added that Warisan cannot rely merely on its status as Sabah’s ruling party to convince voters to abandon Anifah.

“This is because the perception now is that the Warisan-led government has yet to prove that it can lead Sabah better than the previous government, “ said Puyok.

Related Articles Azhar: EC to wait out appeal period for Kimanis seat before acting Warisan candidate says ‘ready to contest’ by-election after winning Kimanis petition Mahkamah batal kemenangan Anifah Aman, mungkin PRK Kimanis