A rural student’s experience in distance education has turned into a public opinion issue, after "Vivion Musipin" published a video of her studying over a tree that she climbed in search of a good Internet service that enables her to continue her studies.
On the eve of legislative elections scheduled for September 26, Musybin, 18, shed light on the weakness of infrastructure and services in the state of Sabah, located on the island of Borneo (the eastern part of Malaysia), and strengthened the comparison in the electoral campaign campaigns with those in the eastern part of the country. Known as the Malaysian Peninsula.
What distinguishes Sarawak and Sabah the most from other states in western Malaysia, according to observers, is the disappearance of ethnic and racial conflicts with the election fever, to be replaced by demands for rights and equality, especially with regard to revenues from natural resources, chiefly oil and gas.
They believe that the importance of the early Sabah elections lies in being a prelude or a "dress rehearsal" for similar general elections, which are expected to be called at any time, given that the central government does not enjoy a comfortable majority in parliament and the opposition doubts its legitimacy.
Sayed Noah urges political leaders to reconcile powerful interests with local interests in the state of Sabah (Al-Jazeera)
Equal status
In his speech to Al Jazeera Net, Malaysian Parliament member Syed Ibrahim Syed Noah believes that the politicians in the states of Sabah and Sarawak will focus on rights such as adopting the slogan "Sabah for her people" and "Sarawak for her people", in the context of talking about the "1963 Malaysia Agreement".
It should be noted that this agreement led to the formation of Malaysia and the departure of British colonialism from the two states, and the agreement gave them a status closer to self-government with the sharing of wealth between the state government and the central government.
Political analyst Peter Minos, who is from Sarawak state, called on the two states' governments to expedite putting the "equal status" demand on the table with the central government, in implementation of their agreement to join the former "Malay Federation" to form the present Malaysia.
But veteran journalist Dr. Sayed Arabi Aideed considers these slogans to be nothing but electoral slogans, and assures Al Jazeera Net that they are politically represented in the central parliament and government on an equal footing with other states, and in proportion to their population size.
As for rights, Dr. Aideed, who is the dean of the College of Mass Communication at the International Islamic University, believes that it is an issue that other states share, and says that the states of the eastern section of Malaysia are linked to the 1946 agreement that organized the relationship between the states of the Federation of Malaya.
He added that the states of Sabah and Sarawak consider their rights as separate countries, ceding their sovereignty for the sake of Malaysia, and demanding a status that puts them on an equal footing with the second part, according to what was stipulated in the 1963 agreement.
Aideed stresses the principle of preserving rights for all states based on the Malay Federation agreement in 1946 and the Malaysia Agreement in 1963 (Al Jazeera)
Partisan fragmentation
Prior to the early elections in Sabah, the political arena is witnessing a re-formation of party blocs, making observers exclude any of them obtaining a decisive majority.
The scene was led by a coalition affiliated with the opposition in the federal government led by the Heritage Party (Warithan) led by the current head of the state government, Shafi'i Afzal, in exchange for a coalition of the "National Front" and "National Contract", the two power partners in the central government, led by the former head of the local government, Musa Aman, except That the emergence of a new bloc led by former Foreign Minister Hanifa Aman may confuse the political equation.
Shahryl Sabbaruddin, a researcher at the Seed Studies Institute, believes that the political behavior among the parties in the state of Sabah reflects the fragmented partisan scene in the federal parliament, including the fluctuation of the loyalties of members of parliament. Therefore, the form of the next local government depends on the rule of the blocs that the elections highlight. In the local council.
This view is strengthened by the rejection of the head of the United Malays National Organization (AMNO) party, Zahid Hamidi, a proposal by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to name the head of the state government in the election campaign, considering that the largest bloc in Parliament will determine the next prime minister.
Shahryl Sabbar al-Din: Economy and rights are at the top of the agendas of political parties in the Sabah state elections (Al-Jazeera)
Infrastructure and Economy
The student Musybin received official attention, as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and other politicians honored her by welcoming her, but the theater she prepared on a tree to capture the Internet signal opened the way for a wide political theater entitled sharing wealth revenues in order to improve local development.
The Corona pandemic and expectations of an economic slowdown have further strengthened these demands, according to Shahriel, who says that economic demands have imposed themselves on the agendas of all parties, which is confirmed by Central Parliament member Syed Noah, saying, “The sophistication in the next stage lies in the ability of politicians to harmonize among popular demands for improvement. State economic conditions and national interests with the strength of the federal system.
While Aideed confirms that the opinion polls he conducted during the past years confirm that the popular position in the states of Sabah and Sarawak is the option of strengthening belonging to Malaysia and ensuring local rights.