With 1.7 million voters choosing from a record 22 parties and 596 candidates, the ballot resembled a democratic marketplace: rich in options but fragmented in direction. Some see this as a recipe for instability; others interpret it as part of Sabah’s ongoing political evolution as it seeks a model distinct from neighbouring Sarawak, whose relative stability is often credited to the dominance of local parties and entrenched elites.

Yet beneath the surface of this crowded contest, the battleground coalesced around a few key rivalries. In bumiputra constituencies, Sabah People’s Coalition (GRS), Warisan, Perikatan Nasional and Barisan Nasional competed. In non-Muslim bumiputra areas,........

© South China Morning Post