KOTA KINABALU – Warisan today announced two new candidates to be fielded in Kota Marudu and Kudat for the upcoming general elections (GE15).
Its president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said the candidates included former Malaysian ambassador to Palestine, Datuk Jilid Kuminding @ Zainuddin who will be running in Kota Marudu.
The 60-year-old Jilid, who retired in January this year after serving 33 years in the civil service, officially joined the party last Wednesday (October 19).
Former Kalabakan district officer, Abdul Rashid Abdul Harun, 56, from Pitas, was also announced as Warisan’s candidate for the Kudat seat.
The announcement comes just a day after Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili’s statement saying his party was not ready to work with Warisan, accusing the party’s grassroots members of being irregular migrants.
Ongkili is also the incumbent MP in Kota Marudu.
In the previous election, Kudat was won by Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri, who contested Umno’s ticket, but he later left the party to join Bersatu.
To date, Warisan has announced eight GE15 candidates out of the total 25 parliamentary seats in the state.
The six candidates announced earlier were Datuk Adnan Puteh (Sipitang), Dr Daud Yusof (Kimanis), Ahmad Hassan (Papar), Datuk Darell Leiking (Penampang), Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman (Sepanggar), and Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Kota Belud).
Out of the eight seats, seats that will be defended by incumbent Warisan MPs are Papar, Penampang, Sepanggar, and Kota Belud.
This makes Warisan the first party in Sabah to officially announce its candidates for GE15.
The Sabah-based party has seven incumbent MPs, while its seat Batu Sapi was declared vacant after the death of its parliamentarian Datuk Liew Vui Keong.
Warisan has also previously announced that it will contest for parliamentary seats in seven states in the peninsular states of Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Johor, Penang, and Kelantan. – The Vibes, October 23, 2022