Waning support for the sitting government may be a reason for the state’s strong stance against the Bajau Laut and other coastal communities, activist Wong Kueng Hui posited.

Wong, the director of Mandiri Borneo, a collective of 126 NGOs, believes the state’s “zero squatter colony” campaign is part of its move to shore up support for the Sabah election, speculated to take place at year-end.

The evictions started...