KIMANIS: A total of 19 polling district heads here have pledged full support to Kimanis Umno division head Datuk Seri Anifah Aman to be retained as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Kimanis in the 13th General Election.Their spokesperson, Yusoff Minin, said they regretted a statement on Wednesday by certain individuals who wanted Anifah to be replaced with a local candidate from Kimanis.
"We, who are representing a majority of local communities in Kimanis here, are fully supporting the leadership of Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and we want him to be maintained as the BN Kimanis candidate in the coming general election.
"He is a charismatic and credible leader who has proved his worth as Kimanis MP where he has shown excellent performance in bringing many physical developments here. Among them are the establishment of the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) worth billions of ringgit as well as the Kimanis Petronas Training Centre," he said.
Yusoff said this after showing total support together with 18 polling district chiefs in front of the BN liaison office for Kimanis at Bongawan township, near here.
He said Anifah has worked hard to ensure Kimanis fully developed under his leadership.
"The action of those concerned individuals obviously shows immaturity in politics that has sidelined the ethics and camaraderie in Umno.
"Holding such protest using white clothing as a banner really reflects their childishness and does not uphold the unity and team spirit in the party," he said.
Meanwhile, Bongawan polling district chief, Pg. Mohd Yassin Pg Ali, said Anifah has solid support at the grassroots level here.
Pimping polling district chief, Roslan Shah Ali, said he was very disappointed with some Umno members here who tried to dispute the qualification and eligibility of Anifah as the BN candidate in the coming general election.
He said the issue of having a local as a Kimanis candidate should not arise as Anifah has been accepted by the voters in Membakut and Bongawan.
Kimanis Umno Information Youth chief, Mohd Saidin Ibrahim, said the strong leadership of Anifah is proven and he has brought many developments to Bongawan.
He said those questioning Anifah's eligibility to be retained as the BN candidate for Kimanis should realise that Kimanis has a bright future ahead under his (Anifah) navigation.
They were responding to a group of Umno members who demanded that a new candidate who must be a local from here replace Anifah and represent BN in the next general election.
The group, which called themselves "Leadership Transformation Movement", said Anifah, who is Foreign Minister, has been the Member of Parliament for Kimanis for too long.
Kimanis Umno Deputy Chief Datuk Karim Bujang, who led four other leaders namely Kimanis Umno Vice Chief Datuk Mohd Ariffin Mohd Arif, the Women, Youth and Puteri wings, had earlier rallied in support of Anifah.
