KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Umno will carry out a study to determine the federal seats it plans to contest in the upcoming 15th General Election (GE15).
Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said the party has made no secret over its readiness for GE15, and are raring to go to the polls.
Umno had contested for 14 seats in 2018’s GE14.
The seats were Kudat, Kota Belud, Sepanggar, Papar, Kimanis, Beaufort, Sipitang, Tenom, Beluran, Libaran, Kinabatangan, Silam, Semporna and Kalabakan.
Bung said studies will be done by the party’s Election Affairs unit (Juara), which is chaired by the secretariat chairman Shahelmy Yahya.
He will oversee research on which seats in Sabah sways strongly towards Umno, he said.
This will allow Umno to demand for seats during talks with their allies in Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), which includes Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), he said.
“The study will start soon and the findings of the report will be finalised to determine which parliamentary seats Sabah Umno will contest,” he said after chairing the Sabah Umno Juara unit, here yesterday.
Also present were Sabah Umno deputy chief Datuk Yakub Khan, Shahelmy, Umno secretary Datuj Jafry Arifin and Sabah Umno GE15 election director Datuk Seri Salleh Tun Said.
Bung, who is also an Umno supreme council member, said early talks will be held between BNl and GRS leaders to determine the candidates.
He added that the candidates can be decided now instead of waiting until the last minute.
“In the coming election, if we want to win, we need to form a government. We also need to be meticulous on our differences, especially voters’ sentiment in each locality,” he said. ‘
Earlier, Bung, who is also Sabah Deputy Chief Minister I, told a meeting of Sabah ministers and assistant ministers from Umno to be more proactive, and constantly in touch with grassroots issues.
“It is my hope that all Umno reps will keep up the momentum of working hard and are close to the people, especially now when Covid is still spreading.
I don’t want leaders who only go to the ground assisting the people when it is close to the election,” he said. – The Vibes, February 15, 2021
