Izwan Abdullah
KOTA KINABALU: There is only one Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno team heading into the 17th Sabah General Election, led by Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also BN chairman, also made it clear that Bung Moktar will receive full support from party leaders, including Sabah Umno deputy chief Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan and Sabah Umno treasurer Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak.
“Bung is not alone. He is supported by Rahman, Salleh, and other BN and Umno leaders.
“There is no Rahman team, no Bung team, and no Salleh team — we are all Sabah BN,” he said at the launch of BN Sabah’s election machinery here today.
Present were Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan; Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani; and Bung Moktar.
MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) president Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup were also in attendance.
Zahid reiterated that Sabah BN and Sabah Umno are fully led by the people of the state.
“Who says Sabah Umno is only for the Malays? Sabah Umno and Sabah BN are for the people of Sabah,” he said.
He added that Sabah BN and Sabah Umno are 100 per cent led by Sabahans, and there is no intention from the central leadership to send leaders from Peninsular Malaysia to run the party in the state.
He said if BN succeeds in forming the government after the Nov 29 election, the Chief Minister’s post will certainly be held by a Sabahan.
“For Sabah, the Chief Minister will definitely be a Sabahan because Umno and BN in Sabah are led by Sabahans.
“Sabah is only for Sabah, and we want the ‘Bikin Balik Sabah’ slogan to be fully implemented if BN returns to power,” he said.
He added that the ‘Bikin Balik Sabah’ slogan aligns with BN’s mission to inform the people of Sabah about the coalition’s efforts to revive the state’s development across all sectors.
Zahid added that much work needs to be done by BN to restore the progress previously enjoyed by the people of Sabah under BN’s administration.
“I have given Bung full authority to announce the candidates, and I instructed him that 80 per cent of those announced must be new faces.
“The candidates must also consider women, youth, Puteri, as well as representatives from MCA and PBRS,” he said.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
