2008 Sabah state election: voting pattern and issues in the Kuala Penyu constituency

Abstract

The recent election saw the BN managed to win 59 of 60 state seats contested. Initially, it was predicted that the opposition could deny the BN a two-thirds majority but the election results indicate that the electorate has shown strong preference for BN's incumbency. Even though a number of analyses have been devoted to the macro perspective of the election, observers tend to neglect the micro aspect. The Kuala Penyu constituency is an interesting case study as it looks at the intertwining factors of developmentalism, ethnicity, personality, and inter-party rivalry in contributing to the voting pattern of the rural electorate. However, it is argued that developmentalism and personality seem to play a more pronounced role .