KOTA KINABALU – Incumbent Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin is not taking things lightly and is most concerned about Warisan’s candidate, Amanda Yeo.
However, he believes voters in Sabah will not vote based on personality, but instead on their affiliation to the candidates’ party.
“Personally (I think) Warisan is my top competitor out of the four other candidates.
“Of course, I also cannot dismiss the candidate from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), which is the current ruling coalition.
“GRS component party, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) is the state’s oldest party, and the candidate’s father was former Kota Kinabalu MP and a senior politician, whom I also respect,” he told The Vibes during his walkabout at Gaya Street today.
Chan, who is from DAP, is facing four other contenders in his efforts to recapture the Kota Kinabalu seat for Pakatan Harapan (PH).
His opponents are Yeo, GRS-PBS candidate Yee Tsai Yiew and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat’s (KDM) Datuk Winston Liaw. Yee is the daughter of Datuk Yee Moh Chai, who is PBS deputy president.
Chan is also facing a challenge from an independent candidate, controversial lawyer Marcel Jude.
“However, I believe the voters will look at the bigger picture. PH is the only real alternative to Barisan Nasional in Sarawak. Not Warisan or GRS – as they only aim to be kingmakers.
“So they will support only the winning coalitions – BN, Perikatan Nasional and PH,” he said.
Warisan’s Yeo when met also shared the same sentiments, saying her biggest challenge was to beat Chan in the election.
“We want to get more support to win the elections. So the biggest challenge would be Chan,” said Yeo, who always has little to say.
The 29-year-old works as a research analyst and has a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the Singapore Nanyang Technological University.
She was also a former aide to Sabah DAP secretary Phoon Jin Zhe who once served as Sabah youth and sports minister.
Coincidentally, Yeo and Chan ran into each other while doing their walkabout at Gaya Street.
Meanwhile, KDM’s Liaw when met defended party president Datuk Peter Anthony – adding that he believed the Election Commission’s call to reject Anthony’s nomination was political persecution.
He said such things would not have happened to peninsula politicians who have active court cases.
On another note, Liaw also drew a stark contrast between the political landscapes in Sabah and the peninsula.
“I met Yeo earlier and shook hands with her, but I did not meet Chan. We will meet each other elsewhere. But we are all friends and would take the opportunity to take photos and shake hands.
“Sabah (politics) is different from the politics in the peninsula. I saw on television how politicians would look at each other like enemies.
“Not here, no. In Sabah, we can cooperate and tolerate each other. No fighting or dirty politics,” he said. – The Vibes, November 6, 2022
