SANDAKAN – Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) candidate in Beluran, Felix Joseph Saang, is the underdog in this federal seat where the big fight is between Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN).
Saang, 48, who is Upko Youth chief and PH Youth deputy chief has been an active politician in Beluran since 2010.
Though active here, he is getting little press coverage as the media has been focusing on the PN and BN candidates, following the seat’s incumbent Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee’s dramatic move to go against BN and defend Beluran on a PN ticket.
“(The lack of press coverage) is okay, I have tried my best to explain my plans to the people in Beluran if I become their representative,” he told The Vibes.
The Beluran seat came under the spotlight after the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-BN pact chose BN’s candidate, former Sandakan Municipal Council’s president Benedict Asmat to contest the seat, instead of Kiandee the incumbent and former agriculture and food industries minister.
Feeling betrayed, Kiandee, who has held Beluran for five terms since 1999, proceeded to contest on a PN ticket.
While the other candidates held meet-the-people talks involving large crowds, Saang has been going for the “personal touch” approach – home-to-home visits and walkabout programmes in rural areas.
He talks to voters about plans to make Pulau Jambongan, the second largest island in Sabah, into a tourist destination.
For this, he said he must first ensure basic infrastructure on the island, especially electricity and water supply.
Currently, villagers on Pulau Jambongan are using generators for electricity and collecting rainwater for daily use and consumption.
In his manifesto, Saang vowed to fight for the land ownership rights of the Beluran people.
He plans to carry out annual Sabah Customary Land Service Programmes in the Beluran and Telupid districts and sub-district of Paitan (Sugut), as well as establish a land tribunal in Beluran to handle disputes regarding customary land rights to ensure indigenous people here obtain their land grants.
Saang has also pledged to upgrade community facilities in Beluran, including, among others, building community halls in Telupid and Paitan, and completing the construction of the pavilion at the Beluran Sports Complex.
Saang had contested the Telupid state seat during the 2020 Sabah state election but lost the seat to PBS’ Jonnybone J. Kurum.
“I do not wish to attack my opponents. I am taking the gentleman’s route,” he said.
Other than Kiandee and Asmat, Saang is also facing Warisan’s Rowiena Rasid and Pejuang’s Hausing Samsudin.
The Beluran district was recently listed as one of the ten poorest districts in Malaysia. The seat has 44,727 voters. – The Vibes, November 18, 2022
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