On 25 October 2020, Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah declined to declare a National Emergency, despite Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s urging that such an emergency was necessary in the face of an intensifying “Third Wave” of COVID-19 transmission. In a media statement relaying the decision, His Majesty reminded Malaysia’s politicians to “stop all politicking that might disrupt the stability of the national government.” Analysts and followers of Malaysian politics are watching these emerging national-level developments closely, in so far as they signal potentially rough political waters for Budget 2021, or may be taken as signs of “politicking” or attempts at democratic subversion by the ruling coalition. This article offers a complementary perspective to these national-scale dynamics by turning to more regional developments in Sabah – the state currently most affected by the “Third Wave” sweeping across Malaysia. Much attention was paid to Sabah in September 2020 during the run-up to its state election, when the uneasy, Muhyiddin-led Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) alliance ousted the incumbent Warisan Plus coalition. Comparatively little attention, however, has been paid to Sabah’s post-election landscape. Basic questions remain about how COVID-19 and Movement Control Orders have impacted everyday life in Sabah, or how these issues relate to longer-term issues, namely undocumented immigrants.