Opinion: PH-BN and PH-GRS: The Upcoming Sabah Election Looks Like a Love Triangle

Opinion: PH-BN and PH-GRS: The Upcoming Sabah Election Looks Like a Love Triangle



6 Aug 2025 • 8:00 AM MYT


TheRealNehruism
Writer. Seeker. Teacher

Image credit: Lahirulmy / Hot FM



It’s almost election time in Sabah. How soon? For all we know, by the time you read this, the state assembly might already be dissolved and polling dates announced.


Why do I say so?


Because from the looks of it, seat negotiations between the main appear to have been completed. Since everybody are ready to go, it likely won't be long before they actually go.


So how does it look like after the seat negotiations are completed ?


Well, for the lack of a better word, the shape of the alliances forming doesn't look a straight line. Instead, it looks more like... a love triangle.


Why?


Well, just like in a classic love triangle — where two men, who can’t stand each other, find themselves chasing the same woman — in Sabah, both GRS and BN, who are at loggerheads, seem to be vying for the affections of the same partner: Pakatan Harapan (PH).


PH, it seems, is the “it girl” of Sabah politics. Regardless of who ends up sitting on the king’s throne — be it BN or GRS — the queen’s seat beside it seems destined for PH.


So why are BN and GRS at odds?


It goes back to last year, when Sabah UMNO — a key component of BN — attempted to topple the GRS government by withdrawing support for Chief Minister Hajiji Noor in what is now colloquially known as the “Kinabalu move”. That coup attempt, led by Sabah BN chief Bung Moktar Radin, failed. Hajiji held on, thanks to support from PH.


Since then, UMNO has been in the opposition alongside Warisan, while PH has remained part of the GRS-led state government. It’s an awkward triangle: BN and PH are partners at the federal level, but opponents in the Sabah state assembly. Yet despite that dissonance, federal loyalty seems to have overridden local animosity — BN and PH are going into this state election as partners.


Afterall, BN’s real problem isn’t PH. It’s GRS.


While Sabah BN may be disappointed that PH has chosen to remain in an alliance with GRS, it hasn’t given up hope. One might suspect that, in BN’s eyes, PH choosing GRS is just a temporary affair — one that could be easily corrected through electoral victory.


If Sabah BN manages to perform well in the upcoming polls, they likely believe PH will reconsider, and return to their embrace. In this triangle, PH is the political Cleopatra of the East — and both the Julius Caesar and Mark Antony of Sabah seem to want her as their queen.


But what if neither BN nor GRS wins big?


That’s a real possibility. If BN and GRS clash and split the vote, other players — like Perikatan Nasional or Warisan — could sneak through the middle and walk away with a victory neither BN nor GRS saw coming.


If that were to happen, Sabah BN appears to have already come out with a solution. According to Bung Moktar, post-election cooperation with GRS is possible — but only after the ballots are counted.



Translation? If both GRS and BN underperform, the state may see the formation of a "threesome" government — not unlike the federal unity model – where GRS and Sabah BN will be sharing the bed with PH, while dreaming that lightning will strike and the other guy will drop dead.


From Marriage to Ménage


It used to be that Malaysian politics resembled a traditional marriage — for better or worse, in sickness and in health. Parties stuck together, rain or shine.


Today, however, politics feels more like a ménage à trois. Alliances are transactional. Partnerships are forged based on who can offer the best deal. And commitment? Only until someone better comes along.


Breakups are rarely permanent. Get a better offer, and you leave. Get a better offer later, and you return. Ideology and loyalty have been replaced by arithmetic and opportunism.


Is this evolution or regression? Is today’s political flexibility a sign of democratic maturity or just a race to the lowest common denominator?



The jury is still out.


But one thing’s for sure — in Sabah, love triangles aren’t just for soap operas anymore. They’re shaping the fate of a state.