PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional (BN) has not ruled out fielding a candidate from outside Kinabatangan Umno for the Lamag state by-election, says the party’s Sabah information chief Nik Nadzri Nik Zawawi.
The Liawan assemblyman said the candidate for the state seat would be discussed at Sabah Umno’s political bureau meeting on Dec 30, following BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s announcement that Naim Kurniawan, son of the late Bung Moktar Radin, would be fielded in the by-election for the parliamentary seat of Kinabatangan.
Sabah Umno chief Jafry Ariffin has been tasked with making an official announcement regarding the Lamag state seat.
“Regarding the Lamag and Kinabatangan by-elections, so far, it has been confirmed that BN will contest both parliamentary and state seats.
“We do not rule out the possibility of (fielding) a candidate from outside Kinabantangan Umno,” he told FMT.
Nik Nadzri said the party’s priority was to ensure that the selected candidate had a real chance of winning and broad public support.
“It is important to ensure that the candidate reflects the choice of the people. It is time we listened to the voice of the people,” he added.
The Election Commission has set Jan 24 for both the Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state by-elections, with nomination day on Jan 10 and early voting on Jan 20.
Commenting on his new role as Sabah Umno information chief, replacing Libaran MP Suhaimi Nasir, Nadzri said it was an honour and a significant responsibility to strengthen the party’s image.
“It is a mandate to present a refreshed BN, particularly Umno in Sabah, by combining the strengths of both veteran and new leaders to continue the party’s work,” he said.
He acknowledged challenges faced by Sabah Umno which is seen as an “external party”, but maintained that it had the autonomy to make decisions and manage the state independently.
“This is the time to show the people that Sabah Umno makes its own decisions without influence from the national headquarters and always works in the people’s interest,” he said.
Nadzri said Umno had been established in Sabah for nearly 34 years, and that the main challenge now was to prove that the party was truly local, committed to delivering development and services for the people.
He also highlighted the importance of cooperation with the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-led state government.
“We need to maintain good cooperation with the state government, with a primary focus on the development and progress of Sabah,” he said.
