“Race is still within the structure of Malaysian politics due to the nature of our social fabric. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak political scientist Dr Arnold Puyok said voting according to ethnicity was demographic-dependent, as racial appeal might not be a deciding factor in a heterogeneous area. State-based opposition Parti Warisan Sabah (PWS) said Sabah folk had a certain “distrust” of Dr Mahathir. “I guess what Dr Mahathir is echoing or reflecting is the political model and voting pattern of the past. And without realising it, the public seems to be accepting race-based politics as a norm, whereas it has never been one in Sabah at all.

Source: New Strait Times July 27, 2017 02:26 UTC