Bitter fight for Kimanis seat

Anifah likely to face ex-deputy who joined Warisan

KOTA KINABALU: The fight for Kimanis is likely to see Datuk Seri Anifah Aman being challenged by a man who wants to settle an old score with him.

The Foreign Minister, who has held the parliamentary seat for four terms, may face his former deputy chief of Kimanis Umno, Datuk Karim Bujang, who has joined Parti Warisan Sabah.

Karim, who was acting Kimanis division chief when the seat was created in 2004, had made way for Anifah to take over the division back then. He became the No. 2 instead.

Political insiders said that relations between the two men, even when both of them were in Umno, had always been patchy.

Karim’s decision to join the Opposition was not surprising to those in the division.

When contacted, Karim confirmed that he had joined Warisan but declined to say if he would be contesting in the elections.

“You will know on nomination day,” said Karim, who has been keeping a low profile since he was dropped from the Barisan Nasional line-up for GE13.

Karim served as an assistant min- ister in various capacities in the state between 1994 and 2008.

But a full state ministerial post remained elusive to him. After the 2008 elections, he was appointed Sabah Ports Authority chairman.

Meanwhile, political analysts said that Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal is trying to get former Umno leaders including former Sipitang MP Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob to break into south-western Sabah which is a stronghold of Sabah Umno.

Dr Yusof is expected to contest the Sipitang seat on a Warisan ticket.

Shafie has also met with former chief minister Datuk Seri Osu Sukam in canvassing support for Warisan.

Shafie has announced that former Liberal Democratic Party president Datuk V.K. Liew is Warisan’s candidate for the east coast parliamentary seat of Batu Sapi.