KOTA KINABALU, Nov 12 — A defiant Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia has promised to deliver the Pintasan seat for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) after his surprise candidacy today appeared to cause rifts within the coalition.
The drama unfolded as the popular incumbent, Datuk Fairuz Renddan, was dropped at the last minute in favour of the 70-year-old former Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
Pandikar brushed off the audible jeers that greeted his announcement, dismissing the dissenters as outsiders.
“What do you want from me? I’m going to win, definitely.
“You want to bet with me?” he challenged reporters after the event.
He acknowledged the risk of sabotage but called it a normal part of any election.
Pandikar, who lost the Pintasan seat by a razor-thin 84 votes in 2020, expressed confidence in his groundwork and his party’s ability to deliver the seat for GRS.
“Why would I contest if I knew I was going to lose, right?”
Meanwhile, a visibly deflated Fairuz said the last-minute change was “hard to accept,” revealing that he had been informed just the day before that he would be the candidate.
While stopping short of confirming an independent run, he hinted that his “struggle for Pintasan isn’t over yet.”
“Whether I contest as an independent or not, that’s secondary. I have to discuss it with my machinery first,” he said, adding that he had already turned down offers from other parties out of loyalty to GRS.
The tension was evident earlier at the event, where a commotion broke out when Fairuz and his supporters, dressed in black, arrived.
When his name was eventually announced, Pandikar took to the stage and raised his cane in a show of victory amidst the chaotic atmosphere.
There was a similar reaction when Pandikar’s wife, Puan Sri Diana Diego, was unexpectedly named as the candidate in Sekong.
Nomination for the state election is this Saturday while polling is on Nov 29.
