The historic Sandakan by-election result has pulverised two myths in Malaysian politics – that the Pakatan Harapan/Warisan governments in Putrajaya and Sabah are only one-term governments and the invincibility of the shameless “Malu Apa Bossku” campaign to give a new lease of life to former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

At a news conference in Sandakan two days before polling on May 11, I outlined three possible scenarios in the Sandakan by-election:

First scenario – PBS victory because of the UMNO-PAS tie-up and campaign. UMNO claimed to have 9,700 members in Sandakan, and if UMNO successfully mobilised its 9,700 members to vote, with the promised 150% UMNO support by former UMNO bigwig Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, together with the final appearance of Najib in Sandakan in his shameless “Malu Apa “ new campaign, and the votes amassed by the grand opposition coalition in Sabah, victory for the PBS candidate was on the cards.

Second scenario – DAP candidate Vivian Wong win the Sandakan by-election with a majority of a few thousand votes, confirming the support of the Sandakan voters for the DAP, Pakatan Harapan and the Warisan-led Sabah State Government.

With the low voter turn-out rate on polling day, PH/Warisan leaders thought that the best the DAP candidate could achieve in the Sandakan by-election was a small victory with a majority of some two thousand votes.

But it was the third scenario that eventuated despite the shameless “Malu Apa Bossku” campaign of Najib in Sandakan on Friday evening and Saturday morning and the “150 per cent UMNO support”. Read the rest of this entry »