Sabah state election hots up as record 596 candidates eye 73 seats

All seats to see at least 4-cornered fights on Nov 29; political dynasties to dominate polls

- Hazlin Hassan

The upcoming state election in Sabah is shaping up to be a highly competitive one, with a record number of candidates, multi-cornered fights, and one seat being fought over by as many as 14 candidates.

As nominations for the 17th Sabah state election closed on Nov 15, 596 candidates will be gearing up to vie for 73 seats on Nov 29 - with all seats set to see a four-cornered fight at the very least, which is uncommon in electoral politics in Peninsular Malaysia.

In the most crowded face-off, 14 candidates will battle it out for the single seat of Tulid, while four other constituencies will each be contested by 13 candidates.

At the close of nominations, the candidates confirmed include 74 independents, 73 from Parti Warisan, 72 from Parti Impian Sabah, 55 from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), 46 from Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), 45 from Barisan Nasional (BN), 42 from Perikatan Nasional, and 40 from Parti KDM.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance has fielded 22 candidates.

The Election Commission said 525 of the candidates are men and 71 are women. The youngest is 24, while the oldest is 86.

Sabah’s political scene is a crowded one with some 20 parties, and is also marked by personality politics, frequent defections and the dominance of political dynasties.