KOTA KINABALU: The much sought-after Karamunting and Gum Gum seats in Sabah’s east coast Sandakan are set to be contested by Pakatan Harapan’s PKR in the Nov 29 state election.
Sabah PKR chairman Datuk Mustapha Sakmud confirmed that Karamunting and Gum Gum seats in Sandakan will be contested by PKR.
Karamunting seat is under the Batu Sapi parliamentary constituency while Gum Gum is under Libaran.
The candidates for both seats have yet to be announced.
Mustapha said seat allocations with Barisan Nasional had been finalised while only one seat remains unresolved with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
“I believe it will be settled soon,” he told reporters at the Sabah People’s Hope Tour organised by the state PKR leadership council in Sandakan.
Mustapha’s unilateral announcement took Sabah Barisan by surprise, with sources from the pact saying negotiations for the two seats – along with Segama in Lahad Datu – are still ongoing.
At another event in Kinabatangan yesterday, state Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said negotiations between the coalition and Pakatan were 65% complete.
He made no direct reference to Mustapha’s statement but expressed confidence that there would be no clashes between Barisan and Pakatan once negotiations were concluded.
Karamunting is currently held by George Hiew Vun Zin, who won on a Warisan ticket in 2020 before crossing over to Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s Gagasan Rakyat under the GRS coalition.
Hiew won with a 2,479-vote majority in a seven-cornered contest.
Both GRS and Sabah Barisan are understood to be making strong bids for the Karamunting seat.
The Gum Gum seat, currently held by Warisan’s Arunarsin Taib, is also highly sought after.
Barisan is keen to field its Libaran MP Datuk Suhaimi Nasir, who lost the seat by just 269 votes in a six-cornered fight in the 2020 state election.
PKR is eyeing Libaran Fishermen Association chairman Abdul Said Pimping as its candidate for Gum Gum, though party sources have not ruled out Batu Sapi division chairman Aris Remingius.
Barisan and Pakatan are working to finalise a seat-sharing pact to avoid multi-cornered contests, while GRS is also pursuing a separate arrangement with Pakatan for the 73 state seats at stake.
Barisan is expected to contest between 43 and 48 seats with Pakatan taking 23 to 26 in their joint negotiations.
GRS, meanwhile, is pushing to contest 53 to 55 seats with Pakatan taking the remainder.
All three coalitions are partners in the federal unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
However, GRS and Sabah Barisan remain at odds locally and have agreed to face off against each other in the state polls.
Other national unity partners, including Warisan and Parti KDM, remain in the opposition at the state level.
PKR candidates for the 17th state election on Nov 29 are expected to be announced on Nov 9 or 10.
