KOTA KINABALU: Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) is eyeing to unseat Sabah Umno's stronghold on two state seats held by its chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and its secretary Datuk Jafry Arifin.
Gagasan Rakyat vice-president Datuk Masiung Banah said that the party was ready to field the right candidates for the two state seats Lamag (Bung Moktar) and Sukau (Jafry) to end the traditional Umno hold on the seats.
"As a local party, we will field the best candidate in the coming state election," said the Kuamut assemblyman, whose Gagasan Rakyat is the dominant partner of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Masiung said that it was clear that voters of the two constituencies were looking for change especially after large crowds turned up for Hajiji's gatherings at Sukau and Lamag over the weekend.
“Based on the extraordinary reception of over 3,000 people turning up for Hajiji's gathering, it is a clear indication that the party is becoming more popular and has the support of the majority of the grassroots community,” Masiung said on Monday (March 17).
Masiung said that Gagasan Rakyat as a local party, would be able to garner strong support to win the Sukau and Lamag seats.
“I see a change in the political landscape of both the seats with Gagasan Rakyat together with the component parties of GRS working hard to win the seats.
“We are the government, what we promise, we deliver, unlike the opposition, they only spin stories and make promises.
“The opposition parties are only creating issues to turn the people against us," he added.
Lamag, Sukau and Kuamut are part of the Kinabatangan parliamentary constituency which is also held by Bung Moktar.
Masiung, a former Upko member, retained the Kuamut seat as an independent in the September, 2020 state elections and subsequently joined Gagasan Rakyat.
