Can Malaysian politics pivot? - By Philip Golingai

By Philip Golingai

It's Just Politics

The Star 

Sunday, 15 Mar 2026

Kedah. Pahang. Johor. Kedah. Penang. Pahang. Kedah. Johor. Pahang. Penang

Will the next one be from Sarawak or Sabah?

For nearly seven decades, these are the only states from which our prime ministers have hailed. Is it finally time for a change in the political geography?

Historically, the “Big Three” – Johor, Kedah, and Pahang – have held a near-monopoly on the premiership, anchoring the nation’s leadership in the traditional Malay heartland. It wasn’t until 2003 that we saw Penang’s rise, when Tun Abdullah Badawi broke the mould, followed later by current PM, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Sarawak, with 31 seats, and Sabah, with 25 seats, hold a combined 56 parliamentary seats in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat. While this represents only 25% of the House, their cohesive voting blocs mean that no federal government can realistically stand without them.

In an era when Bornean kingmakers decide the fate of Putrajaya, the question is no longer just about geography – it’s about whether the equal partnership that makes up Malaysia is ready for its ultimate test.

I thought about this when I read social commentator and unity advocate Anas Zubedy’s blog entry on the 16th General Election, “GE16: Why not a PM from Borneo” published yesterday (at bit.ly/4cNGbYY).

Anas argues that race-centred politics is currently stalling our political engine. He suggests that we are trapped in a cycle of asking which race or religion a leader represents rather than who can best serve the nation as a whole.

To illustrate his point, Anas looks to the corporate world, citing Volvo’s pivot to safety in the 1970s with a CEO from the insurance sector and Citibank’s shift towards consumer technology in 2021 under a leader with a management consulting background as examples of how choosing a leader from outside the traditional circle can fundamentally reorient an organisation’s purpose.

Malaysia, he argues, needs a similar reorientation. By looking towards Sabah or Sarawak, he contends that we look towards a political culture that is historically more multi-ethnic, pragmatic, and less burdened by Peninsular Malaysia’s sectarianism.

“Choosing a leader from Borneo would therefore not simply be about geography. It could represent a shift in how Malaysia thinks about leadership itself. Just as Citibank reoriented banking towards customers, and Volvo reoriented the automobile industry towards safety and human values, Malaysia too could reorient its politics towards national purpose rather than racial contestation.”

He continues: “After all, Malaysia was founded as a federation of regions and peoples. Perhaps the time has come to reflect that spirit in our highest office.”

Anas ends his piece with a provocative challenge: “So the question may not be whether it is possible. The question may simply be: Why not?”

To be cynical, however, the “Never-Going-to-Happens” are deeply entrenched in the peninsula’s political conventions. While the logic behind electing a Bornean PM is sound, it faces the formidable wall of peninsula anxiety. If we are to be honest about the obstacles, they look something like this:

The Malay-Muslim hegemony: For decades, the narrative has been carefully curated to say that the PM must be a Malay Muslim from the heartland. Even though the Federal Constitution does not state a race requirement, the political reality is that many in the peninsula’s conservative base view the prime minister as the ultimate protector of Malay rights – a role they have yet to even imagine trusting to a leader from the more pluralistic Borneo states.

The numbers game: Geography remains a stubborn hurdle. The peninsula has 165 seats, Sabah and Sarawak have 56 so the path to the top still runs through the crowded corridors of Peninsular Malaysia. A Bornean leader would need to command a significant chunk of these peninsula seats, a feat difficult to achieve without massive, transregional party machinery.

The outsider perception: Despite being “Equal Partners” on paper, Sabah and Sarawak are often still viewed by the peninsula political elite as “fixed deposits” (ie vote banks) or kingmakers rather than the source of a leader.

The lack of a national party: Currently, the strongest leaders in Borneo belong to regional blocs (GPS, GRS and Parti Warisan). While this gives them immense leverage, it also tethers them to their home states. Without a truly national brand that resonates in Kelantan’s warung and Petaling Jaya’s kopitiam, a Bornean candidate remains a regional choice in a national contest.

Ultimately, while the corporate world can pivot overnight to a new orientation, the machinery of a nation-state is subject to the friction of identity politics. The “why not” doesn’t refer to a lack of talent or merit – it is a lack of imagination on a peninsula that has spent 70 years looking only at its own reflection.

But. There is a but.

There once was a possibility of someone from Borneo becoming the PM. In 2020, following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government (remember the Sheraton Move?) and then Tan Sri Muyiddin Yassin stepping down as PM, the Opposition (then comprising Pakatan and its allies) had a choice over who to put up as a PM candidate: Anwar of PKR or Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal of Sabah’s Parti Warisan.

Eventually, Anwar’s name was offered as the primary candidate after a period of intense deadlock. Even GPS, the Sarawak bloc that controlled 18 seats at the time, didn’t support Shafie, a fellow Bornean, aligning itself instead with the peninsula-based Perikatan Nasional.

Another opportunity emerged after GE15 in 2022. While the headlines focused on the flashy race between two former prime ministers, Perikatan chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Pakatan chairman Anwar, there was a significant undercurrent of discussion regarding a Borneo candidate to break the deadlock.

Specifically, GPS’s Petra Jaya MP, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, was widely considered a potential PM candidate during the post-election negotiations. GPS secured 23 seats, cementing its role as the ultimate kingmaker. Had the peninsula coalitions failed to find common ground, Fadillah could have been the compromise leader the nation needed.

Today, he serves as Deputy Prime Minister II and the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister. His appointment as DPM II was a historic milestone, making him the first leader from Sarawak to hold the country’s second-highest office. Yet the fact remains that even with the deputy PM post in hand, the top floor of Putrajaya continues to elude the Bornean territories.

If we are to move from a race- driven framework to a nation- centred one, as Anas suggests, the peninsula must first break its 70-year habit of looking inward. The talent is there, and the seats are there – the only thing missing is the political courage to cross the South China Sea.

Kedah. Pahang. Johor. Kedah. Penang. Pahang. Kedah. Johor. Pahang. Penang. And Sarawak or Sabah?

Why not?

Link - https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/its-just-politics/2026/03/15/can-malaysian-politics-pivot