A ‘New Sabah’ and the Spell of Development: Resolving Federal-State Relations in Malaysia

There were two reasons why the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) won four state elections and held power in Sabah for nine years. Although dominated by Kadazans (mainly non-Muslim), the largest indigenous group in Sabah, it achieved power-sharing with Muslim bumiputera and the Chinese. In addition the PBS tapped into a sense of regionalism, by evoking the emotive theme ‘Sabah for the Sabahans’ which later refocused on the Twenty Points. The latter was a set of guarantees to safeguard state rights, demanded by Sabah's parties at the time Malaysia was formed. However, the PBS struggle was deemed parochial and anti-federal by the BN federal government. After PBS supported an opposition coalition which hoped, but failed, to dislodge the BN in the 1990 general election, federal-state relations deteriorated. The federal government undertook various measures to undermine the credibility of PBS leaders and the economic performance of the PBS government. Frustration grew, and differences widened within the party. To resolve its predicament, the PBS called for fresh elections which it narrowly won. The peninsula-based UMNO which spearheaded the BN's challenge drew away Muslim support for PBS. But the BN's promise to rejuvenate the economy through various development projects packaged as ‘New Sabah’ won them urban Chinese support as well. Finally, PBS's newly-elected assemblymen were induced to join the BN, resulting in PBS losing its majority. These political manoeuverings by the federal government are inconsistent with principles of consociationalism which, alas, continues to be a popular theoretical model among commentators on Malaysian politics.