Jahid faces four-cornered fight for Tamparuli

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(From left) Jahid, Alijus, Dr Raymond and Denis.

TAMPARULI (Sept 12): Parti Bersatu Sabah’s (PBS) Datuk Jahid Noordin Jahim, who had unsuccessfully applied for a court order to stop the state polls, will be defending Tamparuli in a four-cornered fight.

He is facing Denis George Kian Fah @ Denis Gimpah (Parti Cinta Sabah), Alijus Sipil (PKR-Warisan plus) and Dr Raymond Alfred @ Jenry (Liberal Democratic Party).

The  candidates were announced by Returning Office  Herman Tunggiging at Dewan Tun Hamdan at around 10.48am after nominations closed.

Jahid, 61, told The Borneo Post that the situation in Sabah or the past two and a half years was not conducive for any planning as it has been volatile due to the political instability.

“I think the people themselves can see and judge what we (PBS) have brought for the past two and half years, especially the villagers,” the PBS secretary-general said.

Pointing out that PBS’ mission and vision for Tamparuli in the past election was interrupted, he said basic infrastructure should be the main priority for the seat, followed by education, health and tourism.

Meanwhile, Alijus, 57, cited various reasons  why he believed he can win the seat, among which are the fact that he’s an ‘anak jati’ (native son) of Tamparuli.

He is confident that his 33 years of experience in the civil service would give him the upper hand in his first-ever attempt at running in the polls.

The former Tawau Municipal Council president said that the recent tussle over seat distribution should not be an issue as he respected all decisions made by the Sabah PKR and Warisan.

PCS candidate Denis, 56, a former civil servant and corporate secretary, said that his newly-rebranded party had the ‘boom’ factor due to their young leaders and number of divisions.

“This election will be different. The young people today want something that is more progressive,” he added.

He also wanted to improve the infrastructure of Tamparuli and to expedite repair works.

Alfred, 49, said that his first mandate is to improve the lives of Tamparuli folks by establishing more programmes and platforms for them.

He intends to focus on basic infrastructure, health, education, security, socioeconomic growth and many more.

LDP’s Dr Raymond, meanwhile, believed that his party’s “Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat factor” would give him an edge in the seat.

Alijus was the first to submit his nomination papers at 9.02am, followed by Raymond (9.05am), Jahid (9.08am) and Denis (9.12am).

Jahid won the seat in the 14th General Election (GE14) after securing 6,818 votes, with a majority of 2,080.

The Federal Court had yesterday dismissed Jahid’s application to stop the state polls pending disposal of an appeal over who the righful chief minister of Sabah is, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal or Tan Sri Musa Aman.

 

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