KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Umno Chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin warns that Barisan Nasional (BN) Sabah’s downfall was not due to voters’ rejection but betrayal by assemblymen who defected after the 2018 General Election.
Bung said history had shown that the fall of the BN government was not the will of the people but the result of betrayal by several state assemblymen who refused to remain loyal to the coalition when it became the opposition at the federal level.
“Their actions not only disrupted Sabah’s political stability but also betrayed the mandate of the people who had chosen BN as the majority party through a legitimate democratic process,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
He described the episode as a stark lesson for the people of Sabah not to allow the state’s future to continue being manipulated by party-hopping politics.
Bung said modern politics is no longer about who holds power, but about legitimacy and trust.
He stressed that when a government changes not because of the people’s will but due to betrayal of the mandate, what collapses is not only the government but also the institutions, morality and dignity of the state’s politics itself.
He stated that the current political landscape reflected a state of “democratic fatigue,” where the public had grown weary of inconsistent and unprincipled politics.
He further said that each episode of party-hopping is not merely political drama, but a wound to the social contract between the people and their leaders.
“A government born out of betrayal will never be able to inspire confidence. Without confidence, there can be no stability that endures,” he said.
Bung added that political stability could only be achieved through leadership integrity and strong institutions, not mere slogans.
“Umno and BN bring two essential elements in modern governance...policy consistency and institutional continuity.
"Development cannot be built on political chaos. Investment requires stability, policies need continuity, and the people need confidence,” he emphasised.
He also added that it was time to end “experimental politics” and focus instead on visionary leadership and governance that upheld rationality and firm principles.