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KOTA KINABALU: Analysts expect Barisan Nasional (BN) to get into trouble in the Sabah state elections on September 26 for excluding former Chief Minister Musa Aman from its list of candidates.
Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said Musa supporters could retaliate by running independent candidates to split the votes.
He told the FMT that it was possible for Musa himself to participate as an independent.
Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah said BN was refusing financial support for its campaign that would have come from Musa’s group.
He also said that there was a possibility that Musa supporters would switch to PPBM.
Sabah BN election chief Bung Moktar Radin, who heads Sabah Umno, announced yesterday that Umno would seek elections in 31 constituencies.
Musa is among several Umno state leaders excluded from the list of candidates. The others, who appear to be aligned with him, include Umno Supreme Council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Papar Wanita Umno boss Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin, and Sabah Umno Wanita boss Jainab Ahmad Ayid.
Bung told a press conference that the party respected all leaders, including Musa, but added that the former prime minister had not asked to run for the BN.
Azman said Bung was showing courage by not including Musa on its list, but noted that it was taking risks.
“This is because everyone knows that Musa is a very powerful warlord,” he said.
“Musa must be brought to the discussion table and placed in a strategic position to avoid being disturbed.”
But he also said that Musa was seen more as a candidate for the governorship of Sabah and that it was better for him to sit in the elections and let new faces come to light.
Lee noted that most of the candidates listed were newcomers, and it seemed that Umno wanted to throw young blood into the fray.
“I think it’s time to move on and present new faces, give younger leaders more space,” he said.
Azman agreed, saying that deploying too many old leaders could “create a mess” in deciding who should be the prime minister if BN won the election.
He said leaders like Rahman were seen as strong rivals to Bung in the race to be the next prime minister.
He recalled that Rahman recently led a group of Sabah Umno division leaders to oppose Bung’s appointment as electoral chief of Sabah BN.
“Rahman will not get any favors from Bung because of the attempted political domination,” he said.
Also, his political career was hampered because he lost in the last general election. So her voice is considered less relevant. “
Lee said former federal minister Salleh Said Keruak, who will run in Usukan on a BN ballot, was also a potential candidate for the prime minister’s post.
