Sabah from the Ground
The 2020 Elections and the Politics of Survival

Bridget Welsh (Edited by), Vilashini Somiah (Edited by), Benjamin Y.H. Loh (Edited by)

9789814951685

Paperback / softback, published 31 May 2021

366 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.575 kg

Sabah's 2020 election was Malaysia's pandemic election. While attention has centred on the impact the election had on the increase of COVID-19, this collection brings together scholars, journalists and social scientists who were on the ground on Sabah to analyse what happened, why, and the broader implications of the outcome for Sabah and Malaysian politics.

The book is the first in-depth study of a Sabah election. It is multidisciplinary, with authors from different perspectives, and the majority of the authors are from Sabah. Traditional explanations prioritize the federal-state relationship in shaping Sabah politics. This collection challenges this paradigm, suggesting that politics in Sabah should be better understood as a reflection of conditions within Sabah—as Sabahans struggle to navigate and survive on Malaysia's periphery.