Kota Kinabalu: Although the Umno general assembly has decided that the party will contest all the seats it won in the last general election, even taking on the defectors, Sabah Umno is planning a different approach.
Sabah Umno will discuss with its allies in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) on the distribution of seats for the 15th general election (GE15), state chief Bung Moktar Radin said.
Party secretary-general Ahmad Maslan had insisted at the Umno general assembly yesterday that the party would contest for all the seats it won in GE14 before its elected representatives defected.
In Sabah, Barisan Nasional won seven parliamentary seats in GE15 but lost five when its elected representatives jumped to PPBM. The five seats are Beaufort, Sipitang, Kudat, Beluran and Libaran. It is now left with only two seats, Bung’s Kinabatangan and Mohamad Alamin in Kimanis.
“Yesterday I gave a statement that for Sabah, we will discuss within GRS. Any political crisis in the peninsula cannot be allowed to overthrow the GRS government.
“We will discuss and send a proposal to the party’s central leadership, before discussing it with other parties in GRS,” he said after attending an event at the Kota Kinabalu International Convention Centre.
Bung said that so far, there had been no seat negotiations among the GRS parties, but stressed that it would be done when the time comes.
Last month, after the Sabah Umno meeting in Kota Kinabalu, Bung expressed Umno’s desire to contest in at least 14 parliamentary seats in GE15.
They are Kudat, Kota Belud, Sepanggar, Papar, Kimanis, Beaufort, Sipitang, Tenom, Beluran, Libaran, Kinabatangan, Silam, Semporna and Kalabakan.
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