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36 Ibrahim Su an and Lee Tai De

group, most districts in Sabah are composed of many subethnic groups, none
of which forms a majority.

Table 2.17 Fluctuation in electoral support by internal regions of Sabah,
2018 and 2013
GE 2018 GE 2013 Change
West coast
BN 38.7 51.4 –12.7
PH/PR + Warisan 49.7 41.5 + 8.2
Other parties 11.6 7.2 + 4.4
Interior region
BN 40.6 47.0 – 6.4
PH/PR + Warisan 40.9 30.9 +10.0
Other parties 18.5 22.1 – 3.6
East coast
BN 41.2 63.1 –21.9
PH/PR + Warisan 52.9 29.7 +23.2
Other parties 6.0 7.2 – 1.2

Yet experience tells us that voters in Sabah do vote for parties that are led by
strong leaders (Loh 1996 and 2005; Lim 2008), who are perceived as chiefs of
their particular cultural or ethnic group. In order to provide some insight into
this tendency, we present here four examples of districts with a predominant
ethnic or cultural group, as well as how the recent election may have a ected
voting dynamics across generations (see Table 2.18).

• Kota Belud represents a case study of a west-coast Muslim Bumiputera
district, populated by the Bajau and Illanun subethnic groups, which
together comprise 90 per cent of voters there. Here we can see that support
for BN correlates with age: younger voters preferred Warisan but older ones
had a slightly stronger preference for BN. Smaller, independent parties had
minimal traction among these voters.
• In Kalabakan, which was once seen as a BN ‘safe-deposit’ seat, BN was
trounced, again, largely by a swing of younger voters towards Warisan. BN
was able to gain majority support only among voters aged 60 and above.
• In the interior seat of Keningau, where 82 per cent of voters are in the KDM
subethnic group, a plurality of voters supported neither Warisan nor BN,
but an independent opposition party, State Reform Party (STAR), led by
Dr Je rey Kitingan, the brother of the KDM paramount chief. STAR was

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