Umno ready to contest Kimanis if by-election called

TUARAN: Sabah Umno is ready to go all out and win back the Kimanis parliamentary seat if a by-election is called.

Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (pic) said the party has always been prepared to face any possibility.

Kimanis was an Umno seat held by Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, who defected to become an independent after the May 2018 general election.

The Election Court on Friday declared the election results of the constituency null and void after ruling that there were irregularities in the election process that affected the election result.

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Mohamad said Umno accepted and respected the court’s decision and will wait for the due process of a possible appeal against the decision.

“However, Sabah Umno must take immediate preparatory steps to get the machinery on the ground ready for a by-election,” he said after attending the Tuaran Umno divisional meeting, here, Saturday.

“An early preparation must be made and our party machinery must be activated.

“I am sure Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin (Sabah Umno Chief) and other committee members will call for a meeting on this matter.”

Mohamad said he was confident that other former Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties in Sabah, including Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), would support Umno in wrestling back the Kimanis seat.

In the event of a by-election, he added, Umno expected PBS, which is part of the Sabah Opposition bloc, to return the favour to Umno by supporting their candidate as was done in the Sandakan by election.

Umno supported PBS’ candidate in that by-election.

“Kimanis is an Umno base. We can work to win it back, ” he said when asked about Umno’s strength in the area since most of its former leaders had moved to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan), while Anifah himself remained independent.

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Mohamad said the exit of many former party “warlords” had rejuvenated Umno in Sabah as younger leaders who were suppressed by the old guard were now emerging and strengthening the party.

Anifah, who won the seat by 156 votes against Warisan’s Datuk Karim Bujang, is expected to appeal within 14 days.

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