KOTA KINABALU, Nov 7 — Sabah’s opposition parties’ plans of whittling away support from Barisan Nasional (BN), now at its nadir of popularity, is “hopeless” due to the inability of local and peninsular parties to co-operate, according to local observers.

With the next general election due no later than 2018, BN appears set to keep its Sabah “vote bank” that also crucially helped it retain power in Putrajaya owing to its rivals’ refusal to not contest against each other as well as the ruling party.

DAP’s Sabah vice chairman Chan Foong Hin said it was futile to expect the national and local Sabah opposition leaders to reconcile, not only because of their different agendas but also their inability to compromise on seat divisions.

“We are always open to work together, and we have tried talking before. But after many meetings, I can say it is pointless to try and avoid three corner fights. It is hopeless, we just cannot agree,” said Chan.

Malaysia’s first-past-the-post voting system means only a plurality is needed to win, which effectively means that a split opposition vote essentially adds to support for the incumbent BN.

It is a perennial problem for opposition parties across the country, but more so in east Malaysia and especially in Sabah where the immediate interests of the local and peninsular parties rarely align.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak-based political analyst Arnold Puyok said that while both national and Sabah parties both intend to dislodge Sabah’s position as the BN’s “fixed deposit”, it will not be successful until they are able to avoid contesting against each other.

“If they continue to be at loggerheads with opposition parties from the peninsula, there is a little chance for the opposition to increase their seats,” he said, adding that similar attempts in the past to unite against the BN have proven unsuccessful.

BN at the federal level has waned in popularity in recent months owing to policies such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that Malaysians say have increased cost of living as well as controversies such as 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

But continued opposition squabbling means that BN is at little risk of losing power in the coming general election despite arguably being at its most vulnerable.

New PKR member Loretto Padua Jr, who was formerly Liberal Democratic Party secretary, said that the BN had narrowly won seats in the Kadazan, Dusun and Murut (KDM) areas in the previous elections purely because of split votes.

“The people are losing confidence in the BN government. The many current issues and the wrongdoings by the current Umno-BN government has given the opposition a good opportunity, but the opposition must somehow unite and work together,” he said.

Padua Jr’s defection is seen a key reinforcement to the opposition’s campaign to break BN’s stranglehold in the KDM dominated areas

Chan said that while taking over the Sabah government takeover was realistically unattainable now, the opposition could at least aim to deny the BN a two-thirds majority and create a larger opposition presence in the state, where the BN has 48 out of 60 state seats and 22 out of 25 parliamentary seats.

Chan, who is Sri Tanjong assemblyman, said both the local and national opposition parties were aware of the consequences of multi-cornered fights, but lamented that a consensus was unlikely to be reached partly due to the “egos” of leaders who insisted on contesting on most seats with little compromise.

“We have tried before, to talk and come up with a solution. But it does not end well. They want to contest all of the seats. We also have different agendas - our stand is to fight within the Malaysian framework, and bring up issues affecting them and empowering them to fight for their rights,” he said.

In lieu of any likely collaboration, he said most just concentrated on strengthening their own parties.

The situation in Sabah is also exacerbated by the fact that Pakatan Harapan, the new federal opposition pact, has yet to even formally meet for the first time.

Meanwhile, Sabah’s opposition have cobbled together the United Sabah Alliance (USA) comprising Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), State Reform Party Sabah (STAR Sabah) and reform movement Sabah Movement for Change (APS).

The coalition champions the rights of Sabahans and uniquely local issues.

STAR president and opposition leader Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan told Malay Mail Online said that it was always possible to work with national parties, but an acceptable formula reflecting the Sabahans sentiments was necessary.

“There is a rising tide of Sabahan sentiments and nationalism, which we believe, can be better tapped by local political parties...even in urban areas.

“Let local parties control or contest most of the seats, and Pakatan Harapan can contest where we do not have sufficient strength,” he said, adding that the national alliance should not be competing against the local parties, but instead supporting them in exchange for assistance in forming the federal government.

But SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee dismissed the viability of the newly-formed “Pakatan whatever”, saying his party would instead work towards a more autonomous Sabah.

“Pakatan is imploding in itself. We will continue to work with Sabah based opposition on our own issues. Pakatan ‘whatever’ is already falling apart. BN is imploding, in self - destruct mode,” he said, adding that until he felt the national opposition parties can unite as a common front, it was premature to discuss cooperation.

Yong said that the party would work with USA on Sabah issues like underdevelopment, Borneonisation of the civil service, Sabah IC as a solution to the rampant abuse of MyKads, land reforms for natives and local Sabahans as key issues.