KOTA KINABALU: Former Senator Datuk John Ambrose has said coalition governments are the only viable path for Sabah, citing the state’s political history as evidence.
“I am confident that the way forward for Sabah is to have a coalition of parties in the coming election and to form the next government,” he said.
John highlighted Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, as the state’s most stable political arrangement. GRS comprises local parties aligned with the federal Pakatan Harapan coalition.
“Being an experienced leader, Hajiji understands Sabah’s political landscape and history, including the collapse of single-party rule under BERJAYA and PBS, and how coalition governments have been crucial for stability since 1990,” John said.
Since Malaysia’s formation in 1963, most Sabah governments have been coalition-based. The first state administration was a three-party alliance including USNO, UNKO, and SCA, which balanced representation among Muslim Bumiputera, Kadazandusun, and Chinese communities.
Subsequent decades saw shifts between single-party and coalition governments. BERJAYA ruled alone from 1976 until rising dissatisfaction in the mid-1980s enabled Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) to win power in 1985. Internal splits and defections eventually weakened PBS, paving the way for Barisan Nasional’s coalition dominance from the 1990s onward.
Coalition governance continued under Musa Aman’s Barisan Nasional administration from 2004, Warisan-DAP-PKR-UPKO from 2018, and the GRS-led government, which took office in 2020. Since 2023, Hajiji has led Sabah under his Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS), allied local parties and federal partners in the Unity Government.
John said Sabah’s multi-ethnic population of more than 30 groups makes coalition governments essential for inclusive representation. He urged political leaders to prioritize strategic alliances over individual ambitions ahead of the next state election.
“Calls for parties to go solo might sound good, but Sabah’s political reality is different — fragmentation often leads to instability,” he warned.
