KOTA KINABALU: Parti KDM deputy president Datuk Wetrom Bahanda is poised to contest against Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) secretary-general Datuk Julita Mojungki for the Matunggong seat in Sabah’s northern Kota Marudu.
Wetrom, who is currently Bandau assemblyman and Kota Marudu MP, said that he was moving from his current state seat to Matunggong, a seat held by Julita, a two-term assemblyman.
Wetrom defeated PBS president Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili in the 2022 general election to win the Kota Marudu parliament seat.
He made the announcement when launching the KDM election machinery for the state constituencies of Matunggong, Bandau and Tandek under the Kota Marudu Parliamentary constituency on Saturday (Oct 4).
“It’s not an easy task,” he said.
He said that his constituency work for Kota Marudu would help him in the transition from Bandau to Matunggong.
KDM, which was part of the federal unity government, remains in opposition to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), whose partners include PBS.
The party aims to contest at least 36 of the 73 state seats in the upcoming election.
Wetrom, a member of the prominent Rungus political family in Sabah’s northern Kota Marudu, won the Bandau seat as a candidate for PN-Bersatu in the 2020 state election.
He later switched to the native-based KDM party, a breakaway from Parti Warisan, which is led by Datuk Peter Anthony, currently serving a three-year sentence for a forgery case.
Wetrom’s younger brother, Verdon, is an independent MP for Kudat and was leading the independent movement known as the Black Wave in the upcoming state elections.
Their sister, Datuk Redonah, serves as the Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah Wanita chief and was a political secretary to the Chief Minister. She is also speculated to be the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) candidate for the Bandau seat.
Additionally, PKR party was vying for the Bandau seat, with Zaidi Jatil, the Kota Marudu division chief, among the top candidates.
In August, PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar launched the PKR election campaign for Bandau.
