AS SABAH heads into its 17th General Election (HGE17), the political contest has taken a darker turn. What we face is not a healthy exchange of ideas and policies. It is digital warfare, designed to overwhelm, confuse, and silence.
For the first time in Malaysian history, DAP and UMNO joint hands side by side. Their combined machinery, powered by artificial intelligence and mass coordination, is now targeting Sabah.
Fabricated content, manipulated videos, and emotional triggers are flooding social platforms. Cybertroopers operate around the clock, flooding comment sections with ridicule and doubt. Their goal is not persuasion. It is disruption. And the targets are clear: all local voices.
Whether in government or opposition, any leader who speaks from a Sabah perspective is attacked. Smears are spread. Trust is eroded. The noise is meant to drown out the local, so that control can come from elsewhere.
Throughout all this, federal regulators remain silent. MCMC does not act. The Malaya party-dominated government looks away. The result is a digital battleground with no referee.
Sabahans must stay vigilant. Question what you see. Talk to real people. Ask who benefits from the confusion. Do not let outside tactics define our future.
HGE17 belongs to Sabah. Let us keep it that way.