KUALA PENYU – This state is one of the many that will be seeing a multi-cornered fight come tomorrow.
One of the candidates is independent candidate and former district council executive officer Mohd Fadzlee Lee Abbdullah @ Chun Lee. He recently quit Umno, giving up his chief position for the Beaufort division.
Tomorrow he will face incumbent Datuk Limus Jury, who is former Barisan Nasional-Upko and now a Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate, and Nelson Angang, Beaufort Upko’s acting division chief.
Limus said he believes the constituents are still with him and PN has a bright chance in retaining the seat.
Other candidates vying for the seat are Parijik @ Fredzex Bagang (Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah), Jepri Mapat (Liberal Democratic Party), and Cecelia Jompiuh (Parti Cinta Sabah).
It is assumed that Kuala Penyu folk favour PN, because of their familiarity with the incumbent, but observers say Fadzlee has picked up some support too.
Although Limus brought in infrastructure development to the constituency during the BN era, resident Normah Madin, 63, said Fadzlee is very likeable and well-known in the area.
For her, Kuala Penyu is a fight between Limus and Fadzlee. She added they would not be surprised if an independent emerged as the winner this time.
It won’t be the first time. In 2004, Kuala Penyu voted for Datuk John Ghani, who turned independent after leaving Umno. He defeated then incumbent Datuk Wences Angang of BN-Upko.
John remained as independent and contested in 2008 but lost to BN-Upko’s John Teo Kwan Chin @ Teo Mau Sing.
On Upko’s chances tomorrow, resident Karim Abdullah, 56, said after the party quit BN, it has not been as formidable as before.
Now that Upko is part of Warisan Plus, he said there is less enthusiasm for the coalition led by caretaker chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal. – The Vibes, September 25, 2020
