Kota Kinabalu: Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) has identified the candidate to contest in the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat by-election, said its vice-president Datuk Jaujan Sambakong.
However, he did not disclose the name of the candidate and said it would be announced by party president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal a day before the nomination, scheduled for Nov 23.
“The president will make a statement before the nomination day. We have already (identified the candidate) but we are waiting for the leader’s decision,” he told reporters here today.
Jaujan said Warisan also expected to be challenged by other parties in the Batu Sapi by-election despite the current COVID-19 situation.
“In Sabah’s history, there was never an uncontested election...for the past 60 years, in any General Election or by-election, there was always a contest. The Election Commission (EC) has issued a statement that the Batu Sapi by-election will proceed, which means there will be a contest,” he said.
The EC has set Dec 5 for polling and Dec 1 for early voting for the Batu Sapi seat.
The election body has also sent out voter’s card to 32,962 voters comprising 1,810 early voters and 31,152 ordinary voters for the by-election.
The by-election is being called following the death of its incumbent Member of Parliament, Datuk Liew Vui Keong from Warisan on Oct 2.
Earlier, Jaujan with several Warisan Plus leaders from DAP and United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) lodged a report at the Kota Kinabalu police headquarters over an article published by a portal which alleged that the state government under Warisan Plus had issued Sabah Temporary Passes to illegal immigrants, causing a surge in their number in the state.
“This is not true and a slander. The Warisan Plus government has never issued the passes as claimed. We take this very seriously and we hope the relevant authorities will investigate the matter,” he said.
