Sabah Star and DAP are ramping up efforts in areas considered key to their political strategies, raising questions about unity within the Sabah government ahead of the state election.

DAP Sabah chairman cum Luyang assemblyman Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe, who is expected to defend his Luyang seat, recently carried out a “Jelajah” in Keningau, an area where the party has had a presence since 2013.

“No, no, we have contested since 2018 — Bingkor in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Why not Keningau? Then I ask you, why not Keningau?” Phoong said when met in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday.

“We have our presence there since 2013. Lim Kit Siang launched our DAP Keningau, and we have been there. On the ground, people give us support,” he added.

This comes after Sabah Star president and Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan walkabout last week, which signaled his party’s readiness to compete in Chinese-majority constituencies like Luyang, Phoong’s stronghold.

Jeffrey is the assemblyman for Tambunan which is part of the Keningau parliamentary constituency while his party colleague Datuk Robert Tawiq is the rep for Bingkor. 

“STAR is a party for all. And we don’t discriminate, we don’t choose. If the rakyat gives us support in any part of Sabah, including the Chinese areas, we respond,” he said during a walkabout in Luyang last Sunday.

Jeffrey, however, denied the walkabout was linked to the election, saying it was to introduce Sabah Star to the community.

“We are not doing this because we want to contest the Luyang seat. We do this to get closer to the people so they can understand who we are,” he said.

Both moves suggest STAR and DAP are testing their influence in areas outside their traditional strongholds. 

The upcoming election could reveal if these overlapping strategies will lead to a direct contest between the coalition partners. – January 19, 2025.