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JUST two-and-a-half years ago, Prime Minister Datuk Anwar Ibrahim had reportedly instructed government agencies to stop putting up billboards of him and his Madani government around the country.
Although he was aware of such a plan, he claimed that he “neither consented nor approved the plan” as the expenditure incurred could be better channelled towards more beneficial initiatives.
But that was the time when everything seemed rosy for the PMX and his Madani administration; it was only the fifth month the unity government had been in power and the electorate were still ‘recuperating’ from the so-called “GE15 (15th General Election) fever”.
Fast forward to current times when the “real game” and “hard-hitting truth” have started to unfold with tables occasionally turned on the power that be, could it be that PMX is forced to compromise on his earlier stance out of desperation to win the heart of Sabahans who will go to the polls on Nov 29?
Political commentator Prof James Chin who fired the first salvo five days ago (Nov 8) claimed that his “Malaya friends” were wondering if PMX “is planning to stand as a candidate in the upcoming Sabah state election given the billboards look like “campaign billboards”.
“I was aware that you, Mr PMX, are positioning yourself as a champion for Sabah – those ubiquitous billboards proclaiming PMX Sayang Sabah make it abundantly clear,” jibed the inaugural director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania in an open letter on X.
Dear YB PMX,
Some of my Malaya friends were confused when I showed them the billboards from Sabah. They asked me if you are planning to stand as a candidate for the upcoming Sabah PRN. After all, the billboards look like campaign billboards.
I was aware that you, Mr. PMX, were… pic.twitter.com/RoZ8O9v7bX
— James Chin (@jameschin110) November 8, 2025
“If your affection for Sabah runs as deep as these displays suggest, then here’s a simple way to prove it: publicly commit your government to dropping any appeal against the (Kota Kinabalu) High Court’s 40% verdict.”
Elaborating further, Chin expressed belief that “all Sabah taxpayers have every right to demand clarity” on the expenditure incurred in putting up the “at least six billboards in and around Kota Kinabalu”.
“Those billboards alone must have cost thousands of ringgit from Sabah’s tax base; money that could be used for the infamous potholes roads in Sabah and providing reliable electricity,” snubbed Chin who is also a senior associate at the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies (TCLC) of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR).
Aside from the Sarawak-born Chin, opposition-slant netizens are also dumbfounded by the sudden emergence of billboards which showered PMX’s with praises in Sabah.
“Hey Sabahans. Try asking how many millions of the rakyat’s money were spent to put PMX’s face on the billboard?” screamed MekGorjezz(@MekSangBuaya) on X.
Ayuh Sabahan..
cuba tanya, berapa billion duit rakyat habis untuk angkat muka Anwar dalam billboard ni?
Hasil 40% kemain berkira nak bayar,
Billboard yg takde paedah boleh pulak.#SabahTolakPHBNGRS pic.twitter.com/f5wXhqYdhf
— MekGorjezz (@MekSangBuaya) November 12, 2025
“It’s so difficult for the Federal government to refund 40% of Sabah’s current and past revenue but can fund billboards that serve no benefit (to the rakyat).”
Asked a curious Taylor Swift fan: “Are these billboard expenses part of the RM17 bil that the Federal government allocated to Sabah? Or are they under election expenses? Asking for a friend. #PRUSabah.”
Are these billboard expenses part of the RM17 billion that the Federal Government allocated to Sabah?
Or are they under election expenses?
Asking for a friend. #PRUSabah pic.twitter.com/nkPln1Ab3X
— Swifties For Palestine & Sudan (@folkloreswifty) November 12, 2025
As it is, PKR which is PMX’s own party will be fielding 10 candidates under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) banner, including Sabah Governor Tun Musa Aman’s son, Datuk Yamani Hafez Musa, who was the former Sipitang MP.
PKR will also field two candidates in collaboration with its pact partner Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) whose component party Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS) currently holds several of the targeted seats.
Elsewhere, DAP will contest eight seats in the Sabah state polls with two of its candidates being current lawmakers.
They are Kota Kinabalu MP Datuk Chan Foong Hin who is also Sabah DAP deputy chairman and Deputy Plantation and Commodities Minister, and Sandakan MP Vivian Wong who is also Sabah DAP secretary and Sabah Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board chairman. – Nov 13, 2025
Main image credit: James Chin (@jameschin110)/X
The post Has PMX forgotten his “no billboards of me, Madani gov’t please” order as Sabah state election looms? first appeared on Focus Malaysia.
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