Victory not an indication BN will rise again – LDP

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Chin

KOTA KINABALU: Barisan Nasional’s (BN) victory in the Kimanis by-election does not imply that BN or Umno is capable of wrestling back the governance of Sabah in the next general election, said Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Datuk Chin Su Phin.

Now that the by-election has concluded, he said the State Government led by Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) should concentrate on building Sabah’s economy, create more job and business opportunities to improve the livelihood of the people, which in turn, would win over the rakyat’s support in the next polls.

Chin opined that the Kimanis by-election was a tough battle for Warisan as the parliamentary constituency was Umno’s stronghold, as evident in the 14th General Election (GE14).

“Warisan’s candidate for the by-election, Datuk Karim Bujang, who also contested for the seat in the GE14, was defeated by Umno’s candidate, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, in the previous polls, albeit only by a narrow margin of 156 votes.”

He added that the government’s plan to implement the Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS) had also eroded the voters’ support towards Warisan.

“The government must consider thoroughly and obtain the people’s consent if they wish to implement the PSS, instead of bulldozing their way through,” he said when asked to comment on the Kimanis by-election outcome yesterday.

BN’s Datuk Mohamad Alamin has won the Kimanis seat with 12,706 votes, defeating Karim who polled 10,677 votes.

Nevertheless, Chin said BN’s victory in the Kimanis by-election did not imply that the coalition would rise again and take over the State Government of Sabah as claimed by Umno Sabah chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.

“The Warisan-led State Government must bear in mind that they should not implement policies that are unacceptable to the people.

“The priority for the State Government now should be to focus on building the State’s economy and create more job and business opportunities to garner the people’s support,” he said.