KINABATANGAN – Sabah Umno president Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said he is now unsure if Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee is a part of GRS, but welcomes him to contest in Beluran in the spirit of democracy.
“I don’t know his status – if he (Kiandee) is a GRS member or not. But this is democracy. If he wants to contest against Warisan, he is welcome.
“I am confident that BN’s candidate can win the seat,” he said.
Bung said this at a press conference outside the nomination centre in Dewan Sri Kinabatangan here today.
Earlier today, Kiandee, incumbent Bersatu MP in Beluran, submitted his nomination papers and successfully became a candidate for the seat.
This is despite his being dropped as a candidate to give way to Umno’s candidate, former Sandakan Municipal Council’s president Benedict Asmat, to contest, as agreed by the GRS-BN pact.
However, Kiandee will become the only Sabah Bersatu candidate in Sabah to be contesting under the PN logo instead of GRS.
At a press conference in Beluran, Kiandee told the press that he is a member of Bersatu, which is under GRS, but is also under PN, hinting that there is no issue for him to be contesting under PN and that GRS supporters will support him instead of Umno.
“I offer myself to continue my big agenda: continuous development, increasing infrastructure facilities, and narrow development gaps. Surely, this will need a continuous workflow,” he said.
In another development, the Kinabatangan seat will see a straight fight – between Bung Moktar and Warisan’s last-minute candidate, Mazliwati Abdul Malek, with Pakatan Harapan not fielding any candidate.
When speaking to his supporters later, Bung Moktar said that he felt that God had made the fight in Kinabatangan easier for him because Warisan’s initially planned candidate, Mohd Ismail Ayob, who faced him in the Sabah election (Lamag seat) in 2020, did not contest this time.
“I believe God is helping us because our intention is good and conscience is clear; this is extraordinary,” he added.
Bung Moktar also earlier confirmed that he is related to Mazliwati and that her late father was his uncle. – The Vibes, November 5, 2022
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