Warisan said it would push to reset Malaysia, adding that it aims to bring the country back on track from political instability and deal with issues that concern Malaysians.
Meanwhile, BN chairman Zahid promised to improve Sabahans’ lives, and push for a DPM from Sabah if his team wins the upcoming elections.
This echoes opposition leader Anwar’s earlier declaration that he would appoint two DPMs if his PH coalition emerges victorious, one of whom will be from an East Malaysian state.
However, observers say such an appointment is just decorative, and would not really benefit people in Sabah and Sarawak.
“I think this offer of deputy premiership for East Malaysia is a very politically expedient and, shall we say, a convenient one, because in Malaysia the post of Deputy Prime Minister is essentially powerless,” said Dr Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
During his visit, Mr Anwar also roused the crowd with his tagline of reforming the government, pushing to get rid of corruption, abuse of power and giving the people a voice, a platform he ran on back in the last election.
Prof Chin said that this time round, politicians are especially eager to vie for the support of Sabahans, due to the local opposition towards Putrajaya.
“The signal is because of the strong anti-federal sentiments on the ground,” he said. “They are trying to show that people on the peninsula side, or the Malayan political leaders, care about Sabah.”
While the parties are still finalising their election strategies and manifestos, before revealing their candidates for the 56 federal seats in Sabah and Sarawak, their work is already cut out for them.
On the national level, voters want political stability and for the economy to improve.
Meanwhile, at the Borneo states level, they want greater autonomy from the federal government in Putrajaya, better infrastructure and development, along with a bigger share of Malaysia’s oil and gas revenue that come from the vast resources in Sabah and Sarawak.