Upko swaps Bingkor, Kadamaian seats with PBS
KOTA KINABALU: United Pasokmomogun KadazanDusun Murut Organization (Upko) line up of old and new faces for the coming 14th general election is geared towards strengthening unity in the party.
“This is a new beginning for us especially for solidarity in the party,” said its acting president Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau.
Speaking to reporters after the unveiling of Barisan Nasional (BN) Sabah list of candidates for the coming election by state liaison chief Tan Sri Musa Aman here yesterday, Madius said Upko had also taken steps to unite with other component parties such as PBS and PBRS.
“The unity we begin internally in Upko and we want to ensure that the solidarity is steeped to ‘cawangan’ and grassroots,” he said.
Tangau will be defending the Tuaran parliamentary seat along with fellow members of parliament Datuk Ewon Ebin (Ranau) and Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh (Putatan). Upko’s state assemblymen, namely Datuk Bobbey Suan (Nabawan), Datuk Masiung Banah (Kuamut) and Datuk Limus Jury (Kuala Penyu) will also be fielded again this time.
The new faces are for Kota Kinabalu Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir, to be fielded in Paginatan as the seat was left vacant after its assemblyman Datuk Siringan Gubat, the party acting deputy president passed away last month, Ewon Benedick (Kadamaian) and Caesar Mandela Malakun in Penampang parliamentary constituency.
Upko secretary-general Datuk Donald Mojuntin is making a comeback and will be vying for the Moyog state seat.
“This time there is something special as Upko will be swapping seats with PBS,” he said, adding that Upko will be contesting in Kadamaian and giving its traditional seat, Bingkor to PBS.
The BN leadership took the step to swap seats so that the best candidates are chosen to ensure victory to the coalition, said Madius, adding: “We thank the BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak and state liaison chief Tan Sri Musa for this decision. To us, this is the best way to ensure that BN is victorious in these two seats.”
On the objections by PBS grassroots supporters in Kadamaian to the seats swap, Madius said it was a natural occurrence as emotions are involved in both constituencies.
“But in the next few days we expect it to recede as we will be taking steps to ensure that the cooperation between both parties will ensue. I have discussed with Tan Sri Musa and PBS president Tan Sri Pairin and we will be doing a few things to ensure that the situation will calm down.”
On the chances for BN to again be given the mandate to govern the state and country, Madius pointed out that the coalition’s strength is based on unity.
“We conduct our campaigns through one ‘markas’, which is ‘markas’ BN. And this is one strong weapon for us, unlike our opponents who we all know are working individually. We are united. In the 13th general election the rakyat were influenced by the opposition’s slogan of ‘tukar’, ‘ubah’ and ‘ini kali lah’.
“This time the influence has disappeared. Despite being united in the past they were unable to beat BN. This time will be worse because they are no longer united. Many of their leaders have come back to BN’s fold. In the next few days we anticipate more will follow suit because they have lost confidence in the opposition,” he said.