Sabah Umno looking at contesting Bugaya state seat if by-election called, says Bung Moktar

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno is considering contesting the Bugaya state seat if a by-election is allowed anytime soon.

The seat has been vacant since the death of its assemblyman, Manis Muka Mohd Darah, in 2020.

State Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin (pic) said that although the influence of Parti Warisan Sabah was strong back then, which saw its candidate Manis Muka win the 2018 general election, Umno was slowly gaining back its supporters.

“In that election, Umno did not place any candidate but instead, let Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia send theirs but this time around, we are thinking of fielding our candidate,” he said after a meeting with Semporna Umno members recently.

“We see that Umno is slowly getting stronger, and this is proven from the several by-elections held nationwide, including the Melaka polls, which saw our candidates winning,” he said.

Bung is confident that as long as members and grassroots leaders work hard to reach out to their supporters, they can make a stronger comeback.

He said grassroots and youth leaders must be proactive in meeting with the people, changing their way of thinking and doing things politically.

“We must clean up our party members from within and if we see positive reaction from people on the ground, we will consider letting our person of choice stand in the by-election if it is held,” he said.

He said there was no reason why Umno would not be able to take back their seat if they worked hard enough.

Bugaya had been an Umno seat since 2004 until Manis Muka of Warisan took over in 2018.

Bugaya is one of the three state constituencies under the Semporna parliamentary constituency, which is the stronghold of Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who is the Semporna MP and Senallang assemblyman.