KOTA KINABALU: Kemabong has become one of the most sought-after seats by three coalitions in Sabah’s interior of Tenom.
Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) have laid claim to the seat held by GRS’ Datuk Rubin Balang.
In the 2020 state election, Rubin won the seat as an Independent but later aligned himself to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s outfit Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah.
GRS happened to be the first to name a candidate for Kemabong, announcing that Rubin will defend his seat.
“With solid machinery and full support from the voters in Kemabong, Datuk Rubin Balang will win again in this election,” Hajiji told a crowd at an event in the constituency yesterday.
The 62-year-old Rubin first won in Kemabong in 1994 under Parti Bersatu Sabah.
He then left for Umno and retained the seat for five terms until 2018, when he contested for the Tenom parliamentary seat and lost.
Hajiji’s endorsement of Rubin came amid confirmation by Pakatan Harapan’s DAP that it is seeking an eighth seat to contest somewhere in the interior of Sabah.
While the party refused to identify the seat, it is widely speculated to be Kemabong.
It is learnt that Barisan is also eyeing the seat.
Should the coalition decide to also contest in Kemabong, its candidate will be made known today.
With the announcement, Pakatan will have to negotiate with GRS and separately with Barisan to avoid a clash between unity government partners.
Sabah Barisan and GRS have refused to enter an electoral pact and will contest against each other but not against candidates from Pakatan.
