KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno has identified four potential candidates for the Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state seat by-elections, its chairman Datuk Jafry Ariffin said.
He did not discount the possibility of fielding Kinabatangan Umno youth chief Naim Kurniawan, the son of the late Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin whose death on Dec 5 will see by-elections for the two seats on Jan 24.
When asked about Naim’s recent social media posting about a reluctance to defend either of the two seats held by his father, Jafry said that was his (Naim's) personal view but he declined to elaborate further.
“Our criteria is that the candidates chosen must be acceptable to the people and have strong winning potential. They will be new faces,” he told reporters Wednesday (Dec 17) after the first Sabah Umno meeting after taking over as chairman following the death of Bung Moktar.
He said he had also met with Kinabatangan division leaders and others within the party to discuss the issue of candidates.
Jafry, who is also Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, said that a final announcement on the choice of candidates for the two seats will be made a week before nomination day on Jan 10.
“Kinabatangan is a stronghold of Barisan-Umno and we will focus on increasing the majority,” he said in explaining that the 157 vote majority obtained by Bung Moktar to retain Lamag was due to health issues during the Nov 29 state election.
“He (Bung Moktar) only campaigned a day in Lamag before the election,” Jafry said.
On the possibility of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor not contesting in the by-election, he said there was a private meeting with Hajiji to seek his blessings for Barisan to defend the seats.
“Some agreement in principle has been reached but a final and formal decision will be conveyed to Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi,” he added.
Hajiji two days ago had hinted on the possibility for GRS not to contest the two by-elections.
Jafry said that the focus of Sabah Umno under his team would be inclusivity and a people-centered approach.
Sabah Umno extended their condolences to Bung Moktar’s family as they remembered him as a principled leader, loyal to the struggle, and fearless in defending the party during political challenges.
Sabah Barisan, which won six seats, is now part of the state GRS coalition government.
Jafry said that Sabah Umno accepted the results of the 17th Sabah election with humility and responsibility.
“We are now part of the unity government in Sabah, we are committed to ensuring political stability and fair, inclusive development for all citizens,” he added.
