COMMENT | I’m not sure who actually coined the term “fixed deposit states,” which classes Sabah and Sarawak as BN’s most secured states, sure to deliver the necessary seats to ensure the ruling coalition’s victory.

Was it current Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak or one of his two predecessors, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi or Dr Mahathir Mohamad? Or one of the leaders in the two East Malaysian states?

Regardless, the “fixed deposit states” tag is somewhat demeaning to opposition supporters in Sabah and Sarawak.

Actually, all Sabahans and Sarawakians should feel insulted when they are called “fixed deposits," because it means they will never change. They will keep on voting for BN, as if unconsciously, till kingdom come, which is what the “fixed deposit” tag seems to imply.

But will they change come GE14?

As I am writing this, I felt stung for a moment, because Scorpions’ 1990 hit “Wind of Change” is playing on the radio in the background.

Will a wind of change sweep across Malaysia as GE14 looms on the horizon? Will it be strong enough to send the Umno-BN wall crumbling, seeing as serious cracks have begun to appear within its ranks of late, especially in the peninsula?

There is no denying that the BN government is still in power, largely due to the unflinching support of its two “fixed deposit” states. The results of the 2008 and 2013 elections proved this to be true.

The two Bornean states contributed a combined total of 47 parliamentary seats, 22 for Sabah and 25 for Sarawak, representing a combined contribution of 21 percent of the 222 parliamentary seats in the country in GE13.

However, the political landscape has seen significant changes in Sabah since then, with Parti Warisan Sabah and United Sabah Alliance riding on a groundswell of “Sabahan patriotism.”...