Sabah Election Bn To Announce 48 Candidates A Week Before Nomination Day

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Sabah Barisan Nasional chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin says the coalition will announce its list of candidates for the 17th state election a week before nomination day. NSTP/MOHD ADAM ARININKOTA KINABALU: Barisan Nasional will announce its 48 candidates a week before the nomination day for the 17th Sabah Election.
Sabah BN chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said 81 per cent of the candidates will be young and new faces.
He said the 48 seats would also include candidates from Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah and MCA.
-Advertisement-Bung added that the list had already been handed to BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said Tanjung Keramat assemblyman Datuk Seri Shahelmey Yahya and Tanjung Batu's Andi Muhammad Suryandy Bandy will be excluded.
Both incumbents, who are also BN members of parliament, had defied Bung's orders to withdraw their support for the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah government led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor in 2023.
He said that an agreement would be made with all BN candidates to prevent them from switching support after winning the state election.
When asked whether Zahid had endorsed this, Bung said Sabah BN had proposed it.
"He has not yet endorsed it, but more or less, he'll listen to us because we have autonomy. Sabah Umno is 100 per cent autonomous — not a 'Malayan' party," he told reporters at the state Umno headquarters here.
Bung, who is Lamag assemblyman and Kinabatangan member of parliament, told the media that their partner, Pakatan Harapan, had asked for "quite a number of seats".
He said PH had requested "about 20 seats" but they are still fine-tuning the exact number.
On a possible GRS-PH-BN cooperation, Bung said that it was a complicated dynamic but Sabah BN has no problem with it.
He said he was confident that PH will support BN as the coalitions were partners at the federal level.
As for BN's manifesto, Bung said the highlight would be on the setting up of a "prosperity fund", free education and solving infrastructure issues. - NST

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