Sabah Kita joins the polls fray, splitting votes
It is likely that the general election will see four-cornered fights in almost all the seats, given the interest of several smaller parties, alongside STAR and SAPP.
Joseph Bingkasan, FMT
KOTA KINABALU: It is getting increasingly crowded in Sabah’s political arena. The latest party to “consolidate” itself under a new chief and reiterate its stand to contest all 60 state and 25 parliamentary seats is the Sabah chapter of Parti Keadilan Insan Tanah Air (Kita).
Former assemblyman Thomas Anggan, who lost his deposit in the 2008 general election and who now heads Sabah Kita, said candidates have already been identified and the main aim is to bring down Barisan Nasional.
“We are willing to work with Pakatan Rakyat to face the might of BN but if the Anwar Ibrahim-led opposition coalition declines our offer to cooperate, Sabah Kita will go on its own for all the state and parliamentary seats in Sabah,” said Anggan.
Anggan, a police inspector before contesting in 1985 for PBS and a former political secretary, will himself be contesting in Bingkor state and Keningau parliamentary seats. Keningau is currently held by his former boss, PBS president Joseph Pairin Kitingan.
Anggan took over the leadership of Sabah Kita on Feb 1 after former federal minister Pengiran Othman Rauf tendered his resignation last month, citing health reasons.
Anggan, who was Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) assemblyman for Bingkor in 1985, called a party supreme council meeting last week and adopted a resolution that was taken by Othman last year that the party will field candidates in all the 60 state and 25 parliamentary seats in Sabah in the coming general election.
The supreme council of the party, an expansion of the Peninsula-based Kita, once headed by lawyer businessman Zaid Ibrahim, also made key appointments during its recent meeting.
Its new deputy chairmen are Sylvester Mutang Dawat and Johan Asik Shah.
Sabah Kita’s director of strategy and information chief is Abdul Rashid Kobod while Timis Sambadi is the secretary and Betty Edwin Malangkan, the women’s wing chief. The three supreme council members appointed are Jounal Bibi, Wahid Susu @ Suyoh and Saidi Jaimin.
These officials are also set to contest in the general election. Dawat is set for Tenom, Johan in Kota Belud and Abdul Rashid is going for the Semporna parliamentary and Senallang state seats.
More players advantageous to BN
With this latest announcement, Sabah Kita is now the second smallest Sabah party contesting all the seats in the state. The other is Parti Bersatu Sasa Malaysia (Bersama) or Malaysia United People’s Party.
Bersama, headed by Suhaidin Langkap, is also planing to field candidates not only in Sabah but in all the 222 parliamentary and 502 state constituencies in the country.
