By Ripin Mintow

Sabah DAP to contest three parliament, seven state seats

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah DAP yesterday confirmed it would be contesting three parliament seats and seven state seats in the upcoming 14th General Election, after striking a deal in seat allocation with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Parti Warisan Sabah.

State DAP advisor Jimmy Wong said Sabah DAP chairman Stephen Wong would be defending the predominantly Chinese Sandakan parliamentary seat.

He said the party’s candidates for the other parliamentary seats of Kota Kinabalu and Tenom are former Sri Tanjung state assemblyman Chan Foong Hin and Noorita Sual respectively.

Jimmy, who won the Kota Kinabalu seat in the 13th General Election, has earlier confirmed his candidacy for the Sri Tanjung state, in a seat-swap agreement with Chan.

According to Jimmy, Sabah DAP got 10 seats during a meeting between the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sabah and Parti Warisan Sabah on the seat allocation deal here yesterday.

“Yes, Warisan and PH struck a deal (on the allocation of seats),” he said, adding that the deal for the remaining parliamentary (22) seats and (53) state seats is now between PKR, which is also part of the PH Sabah alliance, and Parti Warisan Sabah.

Warisan President Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal had already made his party’s stand much earlier that it would not be joining the PH Sabah per se, but would work together given their common aim of toppling the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

Jimmy said the other five state seats being allocated for DAP are Kapayan, Luyang, Bingkor, Likas, Elopura and Tanjung Papat.

The party has chosen social activist cum Sabah DAP Women’s chief Jannie Lasimbang as the candidate to wrest back the Kapayan seat which was won by DAP in the 13th GE through Dr Edwin Bosi, who quit the party and has since joined KDM-based Parti Anak Negeri (PAN) headed by Datuk Henrynus Amin.

The party’s choice of candidates are Ginger Phoong Jin Zhe (Luyang), Peter Dhom Saili (Bingkor), Tan Lee Fatt (Likas), Calvin Chong (Elopura) and Frankie Poon (Tanjung Papat) for the respective seats.

In the last general election, the Likas and Luyang seats were both won by DAP through Junz Wong, who quit to join Warisan and Hiew King Cheu who also left to join MCA, one of the Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties.