Sarawak-based State Reform Party (STAR) would contest in 48 of the 60 state seats and 15 of the 25 parliamentary seats in Sabah.
Most of the seats are in predominantly-Kadazandusun areas in Sabah’s west-coast and interior, but also included are many Muslim seats currently held by Umno.
This was announced by Sabah STAR chairman Jeffrey Kitingan at a press conference soon after he launched the party’s election manifesto at the city’ new hotel Ming Garden here today.
He named most of the candidates but left few seats pending as it is believed tussles were still on-going and that possible crossovers of ‘influential’ members from other parties are imminent.
Already there are talks that PKR senior leader Ansari Abdullah and his group would be seeing Jeffrey later today. Ansari, once a blue-eyed boy of Anwar Ibrahim, was completely missing from PKR list this time.
Today, former Sabah PKR Youth Head, Jaffery Jamion, quit the party and handed over his application to join STAR.
This would make the May 5 polls the most crowded in Sabah’s history based on the participation of political parties.
As many as two-thirds of the seats in Sabah will see at least a four-cornered fight and this is not counting scores of possible independent candidates.
STAR’s sole ally under United Borneo Alliance (UBA) is Usno (protem) which is led by Datu Badarudin Datu Mustapha.
Usno will contest in four parliamentary seats and seven state seats.
Brothers to face-off
Badarudin said two of Usno’s candidates would use STAR symbol while the rest stand as Usno independents.
Jeffrey will again contest in the Keningau parliamentary seat and the Bingkor state seat under Keningau.
He has chosen a popular boy, Nestor Joannes, to take on his elder brother Joseph Pairin for the Tambunan state constituency.
Political pundits predict Joannes could be a giant-killer as Pairin’s popularity dropped to its lowest in 38 years.
While another opposition party Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has not chosen a candidate to go against Jeffrey in Bingkor, the Peninsular-based PKR has put up a former federal deputy minister Ahmad Shah Tambakau as its candidate.
PKR also had its Keningau divisional head, Stephen Sandor, going against Jeffrey and Pairin for the Keningau seat.
STAR deputy chairman Daniel John Jambun, had at the last minute switched from Inanam state seat to contest instead for the Sepanggar parliamentary seat, formerly held by SAPP’s Eric Majimbun, who will now contest for Inanam.
Jambun will be up against Jeffrey Kumin of DAP, Chin Hon Kong of SAPP and Jumat Idris of BN.
Another deputy chairman, Awang Ahmad Sah Awang Sahari, is slated to try his luck again in his hometown Petagas where BN has a so-called “bank votes” of about 4,000 from the serving army in Lok Kawi.
Ahmad Sah will also be contesting the Kimanis parliamentary seat, up against incumbent and federal minister Anifah Aman, SAPP’s Jamil William Core and Jaafar Ismail of PKR.
Usno takes on Shafie Apdal
Yet another deputy chairman Dr Nicholas James Guntobon, is to contest in Liawan state seat, just next to Bingkor.
Two other STAR deputy chairmen, Paul Voon, and Jacob Chang, had not been named candidate but Chang could be last minute candidate for Lahad Datu or Silam, which both Jeffrey and Badarudin have left pending.
It is also learned that overtures from dropped BN’s one-term parliamentarian for Silam, Salleh Kalbi, could be a factor.
STAR Sabah secretary, Guandee Kohoi, will contest the Beaufort parliamentary seat, where heavyweights Lajim Ukin of PKR, is defending his seat. Aiming to wrest the seat is BN’s Azizah Mohd Dun.
Meanwhile, Badarudin has chosen to go against Umno vice-president, Shafie Apdal for the Semporna parliamentary seat.
He said he would not be using STAR symbol but will go with an Usno independent banner, to prove a point to Umno that Usno still exists in the mind of Sabahans.
This tussle for Semporna promises to be a hot one as Badarudin too has his families there.
Badaruddin is the son of Usno’s founder, the late Tun Mustapha Datu Harun, who actually paved the way for Umno to spread wing to Sabah.
Badarudin’s cousin, Datu Arifin Datu Salam of Usno, meanwhile would contest the Tanjung Kapur state seat in Kudat, the birth place of Tun Mustapha. Arifin would use the STAR symbol, said Badarudin. -FMT
Thursday, April 18, 2013
STAR to contest in 48 state seats in Sabah
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ReplyDeletePeluang tipis
ReplyDeleteLocal opposition party, the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) will contest in eight parliamentary and 41 of the 60 state seats, paving the way for fierce fights with other opposition as well as Barisan Nasional parties contesting in Sabah.
ReplyDeleteThe eight MP seats are Kudat, Kota Marudu, Sepangar, Putatan, Kimanis, Sipitang, Tenom and Tawau.
ReplyDeleteAlready PKR has announced it is going for 19 parliamentary seats and 43 state seats with the remaining seats at stake to be contested by its partner under Pakatan Rakyat, PAS and DAP.
Another opposition party, State Reform Party (STAR) will announce its list today and it is believed that the party will also be gunning for around 40 state seats and perhaps eight to 15 parliamentary seats.
ReplyDeleteSAPP president Yong Teck Lee in announcing his list last night said that under an amended state constitution only registered political party may form the state government and that is why SAPP is contesting a majority of state seats in Sabah.
ReplyDelete“Tonight we announce the final eight for MP and only 38 of the 41 state seats we are contesting as we still want to see how other parties put up their candidates,” he told a crowd of about 400 gathered at the Kepayan Low Cost Housing shop complex near here under a light drizzle.
ReplyDeleteYong himself has decided to go back to his old state seat of Likas which he had to vacate on a high court’s order following an election petition against him several years ago.
ReplyDeleteSAPP deputy president Eric Majimbun, the incumbent MP for Sepanggar meanwhile is now contesting for his hometown Inanam state seat which falls within Sepanggar constituency.
ReplyDeleteThe only other SAPP parliamentarian, Chua Soon Bui, got another opportunity to defend Tawau for SAPP, an uphill task now as the last time she won it was with the support of then SAPP’s ally Umno.
ReplyDeleteSabah State Assembly deputy speaker, Frankie Chong, meanwhile will contest the Sook state seat in the interior against the PBRS-BN candidate.
ReplyDeleteThe rest in the list comprise old and young candidates from various ethnic groups including Dusun, Suluk, Bajau, Rungus, Murut and Sino besides ethnic Chinese, giving SAPP a truly multi-racial line-up.
ReplyDeleteNomination day, most awaited day
ReplyDeleteMemang gerenti ramai orang la di KDCA ni
ReplyDeleteI bet lots of people will be going there tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure they can win?
ReplyDeleteMemang tiada harapan ni
ReplyDeleteBah harapan besar punah
ReplyDeleteBintang bulan matahari
ReplyDeleteNomination day will see many fights
ReplyDeleteBijak buat pilihan terbaik
ReplyDeleteWe all see
ReplyDeleteTAKZIAH kepada semua bakal calon STAR yang akan kehilangan wang pertaruhan dalam PRU13 nanti.
ReplyDeleteTHE ballot papers for Sabah might just have to be extra long. Talks between opposition parties have broken down, setting up multi-cornered fights that will split the opposition vote.
ReplyDeleteThe picture is not much different in the opposition-held states of Kedah and Kelantan, where the three partners of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance are still tussling over seat allocations.
ReplyDeleteThe big disputes, however, are in Sabah, where 25 parliamentary seats are up for grabs, and at least 15 seats will see three-cornered contests. Competition for the 60 state seats is even more intense, with at least 26 three-cornered and 23 four-cornered fights expected.
ReplyDeleteAnalysts say this could hurt the opposition's chances of making inroads into this crucial state, considered to be a "fixed deposit" for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN). "This is definitely not good for the opposition in Sabah," said Dr Jeniri Amir, a political analyst at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. "The independent parties are indirectly benefiting BN."
ReplyDeleteMulti-cornered fights were a key factor allowing the ruling BN to tighten its hold on Sabah in the 2008 elections. BN currently controls 24 parliamentary and 59 state seats there.
ReplyDeleteDr Jeffrey Kitingan's independent State Reform Party and the Sabah Progressive Party, led by former chief minister Yong Teck Lee, were the main independent parties here that could not stitch up deals with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's PR alliance.
ReplyDeleteDr Jeffrey played down the situation, insisting that his party had planned for multi-cornered contests all the time. "Do not obsess over one-to-one contests, it is just a concept," the 66-year-old veteran politician told reporters after launching his party's manifesto yesterday. "We built up our strength from the start in order not to rely on straight fights."
ReplyDeleteThe most heavily contested seats appear to be the heartland of the indigenous Kadazandusun and Murut communities, as well as Muslim bumiputera areas in eastern Sabah. They include Dr Jeffrey's Keningau parliamentary seat, where he will again face older brother Joseph Pairin Kitingan and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Stephen Sandor.
ReplyDeleteSabah, along with Sarawak and Johor, are key battleground states for PR, which has ambitions to form the next federal government. For the Sabah BN, things are looking up, said senior state BN leader Abdul Rahman Dahlan. "These multi-cornered fights will split the opposition votes, a major advantage to BN," he told The Straits Times.
ReplyDeleteThe candidates from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) were not present, an official told the people inside the PAS headquarters hall. Two seats that the DAP wants to contest are still in dispute as negotiations with PAS and PKR continue.
ReplyDeleteA similar drama was played out in next-door Kelantan the same evening. PAS and PKR unveiled their lists, but left out a couple of names because the parties are still tussling over two constituencies.
ReplyDeleteWith less than 48 hours to go before Nomination Day tomorrow, the opposition is scrambling to settle the hot issue. In an election where PR, comprising PAS, PKR and the DAP, is offering itself as an alternative federal government, failure to resolve this matter amicably could cost it dearly.
ReplyDeleteStar akan kalah byk kerusi atau tidak menang langsung
ReplyDeleteselepas pru13, terbukti agenda yang bersifat kenegerian tidak diterima oleh rakyat sabah..
ReplyDelete