From left: Kiandee, Andi Muhammad and Benedict.
KOTA KINABALU (Nov 4): Incumbent Beluran Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee will not be defending the seat in the 15th General Election (GE).
Barisan Nasional Sabah (BN) will be fielding former Sandakan Municipal Council president Benedict Asmat as its candidate.
Kiandee, the five-term MP for Beluran won the seat when he was in Umno but left the coalition in 2018 and subsequently joined Bersatu.
When Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and BN announced their list of candidates on Wednesday, the Beluran seat was not included and Sabah BN liaison chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin in his speech said that a discussion was still on going as to which party will be contesting there.
Bung Moktar in a statement late Thursday night also announced that Aslin Fadli Bin Samsul Alang will no longer be fielded to contest in Kalabakan.
“BN Sabah’s candidate for Kalabakan will be Tanjung Batu assemblyman Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy,” he said.
Bung Moktar who is also Umno Sabah chief, said Benedict, 54, was chosen because he is a local from Beluran and is someone with vast experience in the civil service.
Bung Moktar said Benedict is the right choice for BN as he has extensive experience in public administration in addition to being a member of Umno and held several positions at the divisional level.
“His previous experience as a civil servant will help him to carry out his duties as a representative of the people if he is given a mandate by the people in the Beluran area in this 15GE,” he said.
“He is a local Beluran graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Sociology (honours) from the University of Malaya with extensive experience in the field of administration where he was previously a civil servant,” he added.
For the record, Benedict previously served as Assistant District Officer (Rural) Beluran 1991-1998, Assistant District Officer Beluran (Administration) 1998-2010, Telupid District Officer 2014-2019, Semporna District Officer 2019-2020, Deputy Director of the Economic Planning Unit State of Sabah (Dec 2020-Jan 2021), Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Works (Jan 2021- Dec 2022) and his last position in public service was as president of the Sandakan Municipal Council.
Touching on the BN’s candidate in the Kalabakan parliamentary constituency Andi Muhammad who is also Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports, Bung Moktar said he is a young leader who graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of Technology Malaysia (UiTM).
Andi Muhammad, Bung Moktar said, is well known to the community in the Kalabakan area.
“Sabah BN is confident that both candidates who have a high education background with professional qualifications and experience in public administration will be able to carry the trust to represent the interests of the people in their respective areas when they are elected in the 15GE,” he said.