Sabah urban voters warming to BN again, says Ongkili

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) deputy president Maximus Ongkili believes a change in attitude among voters in urban areas, particularly Kota Kinabalu, will enable the party to wrest opposition-held constituencies in Sabah in the 14th general election (GE14).

The Kota Marudu MP however said it did not mean that the Barisan Nasional (BN) party was assured of victory and could rest on its laurels.

“We need to work hard and ensure our level of preparedness is at the optimum level,” he said.

“Furthermore, we need the cooperation of all other component parties in BN.

“But I still believe the (Kota Kinabalu) parliamentary seat is winnable this time around,” said Ongkili, who is energy, green technology and water minister, after launching a solar plant in Semporna today.

He said PBS had canvassed among Chinese associations over the past few years to determine the community’s opinions and sentiments.

“Through their reactions we know that they do not want to stay long under the opposition,” he said.

“They saw that it was the (BN) government that has given them assistance for their places of worship and schools,” he added.

In the last general election in May 2013, PBS candidate and supreme council member Chin Tek Ming lost Kota Kinabalu to DAP candidate Jimmy Wong by a margin of 18,959 votes.

PBS won four other parliamentary seats it contested on behalf of BN, but lost in six of 13 state seats allocated to it by the ruling coalition.

The state constituencies where the party lost were Matunggong, Kadamaian, Inanam and Tamparuli, all of which have majority Kadazan-Dusun-Murut (KDM) populations, and the Chinese-majority seats of Api-Api and Sri Tanjong.

Matunggong, Kadamaian, Tamparuli and Api-Api were lost with a majority of less than 1,000 votes.

“This time around, we are very confident we can win back the seats, especially the KDM ones, because we have been working hard, going to the ground and we have the backing of other BN parties,” Ongkili said.

“Similarly, we are ready to fight in Api-Api and Sri Tanjong although I admit we are facing an uphill battle in Sri Tanjong,” he added.

Refusing to reveal the names of its candidates there, Ongkili confirmed that the party had submitted the full list for all its seats to BN.

“The letter was signed by both party president Joseph Pairin Kitingan and myself as the deputy, and sent in to the BN chairman (Prime Minister Najib Razak),” he said.

“Of course it is not necessarily the final list. Some fine-tuning may still be needed. But I am confident of the party’s chances in the coming election,” he said. -FMT