Sabah's verdict: why Malaysia's 'unity government' must wake up or step aside

When the results from the Sabah election came in, many in Putrajaya tried to spin it as a ‘Sabah-specific issue’.

It was not. It was a national warning shot, a political earthquake, a diagnosis of a ‘unity government’ that has lost its ear to the ground, its courage in decision-making and its sense of who actually put them in Putrajaya.

Sabah wasn’t about Warisan, Pas or even the DAP. It was about voters losing faith in a government that promised the world, delivered crumbs and then behaved as if the people owed them gratitude.

This is not the story of PKR’s Rafizi Ramli or Anwar Ibrahim alone. It’s is the story of a system that has forgotten the basics of governing: deliver, be transparent, punish wrongdoers and always put the people first.

Sabah finally said: “We’ve had enough.”

A verdict, not a tsunami

Let’s be brutally honest: Sabah was never Pakatan Harapan’s ‘fixed deposit’.

In the 2020 Sabah election, the DAP and PKR won eight seats between them. This time, they retained just one. The 2018 general election was an anomaly; 2020 was anger over the ‘Sheraton move’, and 2025 was reality catching up.

Eight DAP seats were wiped out, PKR was reduced to political dust, and PH leaders flew in at the last minute with cameras and entourages – only to leave with nothing but excuses.

Why? Because people in Sabah don’t care about peninsula-style ethnic fear campaigns. They care about dignity, delivery, sincerity, development and fairness without drama

They saw PH becoming arrogant, tone-deaf, obsessed with defending the prime minister’s image instead of serving the people. And voters punished them with surgical precision.

Why unity governments fall

This is bigger than Malaysia. All unity governments eventually collapse so similar reasons: too many masters with no single direction, too much compromise with no clear delivery, too many promises with no accountability. Add too much sloganeering but not enough substance, and too many powerbrokers but not enough problem-solvers.

Look around the world. In New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern collapsed under impossible expectations because she tried to please everyone.

In the UK in 2010, the David Cameron–Nick Clegg coalition saw the senior partner survive while the junior partner, the Liberal Democrats, almost died permanently – just like the PH versus PKR versus the DAP dynamics now.

Australia saw Kevin Rudd, then Julia Gillard, then Kevin Rudd again, as unity-style internal bargains tore the Labor Party apart.

Thailand saw establishment games produce a youth rebellion and the Move Forward Party revolution.

Even Indonesia’s Joko Widodo – beloved by many – could not escape the anger of a public struggling with living costs, dynasty politics and institutional interference.

The lesson is universal: if you try to govern by pleasing everyone, you will eventually please no one. Malaysia is walking into that trap at full speed.

The numbers don’t lie

Let’s look at the hard numbers.

Federal government (RM421bn 2025 Budget)

Sabah (RM6.4bn budget – 66 times smaller than the federal budget)

Sarawak (RM16bn budget)

Let that sink in: a poorer state apparently treats minorities with more fairness, sincerity and funding than a federal government that owes its survival to minority votes. 

Why reform governments fail

Reform governments always crash for the same reason: they overpromise, institutions resist, opponents weaponise disappointment, the base becomes restless, the government becomes defensive – then the people revolt quietly at the ballot box.

PH is now repeating the cycle of 2018 and 2020. Too many slogans, too much defensive messaging, too little delivery. Too many scandals, too many double standards, too much moral policing. Too little humility, too much fear of losing power and too little fear of losing trust.

Questions that need answers:

When was the last time you walked a pasar malam (night bazaar) without photographers? Why do you fear transparency if you claim you are clean? Why are corruption settlements allowed for some but not for others?

Why was Rafizi punished for wanting data-driven governance? Why don’t you trust institutions enough to let them act independently? Why should young voters trust you if you don’t trust young leaders? Why do you expect loyalty from voters you keep ignoring?

Malaysia doesn’t need more slogans. It needs leaders brave enough to answer these questions.

Talent without courage

Many think the DAP lost because it lacks leadership. They’re wrong.

The DAP has some of Malaysia’s more capable politicians: Gobind Singh Deo, Ramkarpal Singh, Hannah Yeoh, Anthony Loke, Steven Sim, Nga Kor Ming, Young Syefura (Rara), Syahredzan Johan and Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puli.

These are governance brands, not race-based brands. But the party is trapped by old formulas, by coalition pressure, by the need to protect Anwar’s image. It’s also trapped by outdated communication, by fear of backlash and by losing moral clarity.

Sabah voters did not reject Gobind or Hannah. They rejected the silence of the party. Voters said: “We supported you because you fought for us. But now you don’t fight for anyone except the PM’s ego.”

If the DAP wants survival, it must rediscover its backbone.

The maverick who warned everyone

Rafizi’s story is not mythology but mathematics.

With Invoke’s data, he predicted 80 seats in the 2022 general election (outcome: 82). He turned Tambun from ‘suicide’ to victory. He revived the morale of PH. He built Ayuh Malaysia. He travelled the country non-stop. He rebuilt PKR machinery from ashes.

But he made one fatal mistake. Apparently, he believed reform should be real. The ecosystem wanted reform to be theatre.

His refusal to play patronage, envelopes, contracts, loyalty-over-competence, dynastic politics and a yes-man culture may have cost him his position.

PKR betrayed its best brain, believing loyalty is more valuable than intelligence. Sabah proved otherwise.

You may dislike Rafizi, but you cannot ignore the truth: the only time PH was strategic was when Rafizi was in the ‘war room’. Remove him, and the party collapsed within six months.

The youth vote has changed

Many young voters apparently don’t care about ethnic politics, ‘ketuanan’ (supremacy) narratives or party loyalty.

They care about wages, rent, food prices, their future, transparency, fairness, truth, sincerity and competence

Gen Z does not belong to PH or Perikatan Nasional. They belong to whoever speaks honestly, admits mistakes, delivers results, and stops corruption, racism and hypocrisy.

Malaysia’s future is no longer in fixed deposits but in floating voters.

Regional warning

The pattern is clear across the region: Thailand has seen youth rebellion against political elites. Indonesia has seen people revolt when promises don’t match delivery, Singapore has seen even the dominant People’s Action Party lose seats when credibility slips.

Japan has watched reform governments collapse under poor execution, while the UK and New Zealand have discovered that unity governments rarely survive a second term.

Malaysia is following the same pattern, and unless it shifts course, PH will not survive the next general election.

What must be done

Malaysia needs:

A final warning

The people breathed new air when the Sheraton rot was removed, and we believed a new chapter had begun.

But today, the air is thick again: too many excuses, too many blind spots, too many yes-men, too little courage.

Sabah voters were not emotional. They were honest, and they told the unity government: “Wake up, or get out of the way.”

This is not the end yet, but it is the last warning.

Malaysia doesn’t need heroes. It needs humility, competence, courage and leaders who fear betraying the people more than they fear losing power.

Remember, once the people walk away, chances are, they never return.

...