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KOTA KINABALU: A total of 42 Umno branch heads in Liba’s parliamentary constituency are demanding that Musa Aman be named the party’s candidate for the new Sungai Manila state seat.
These grassroots leaders also reject Mokran Ingkat, who was appointed yesterday by Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) electoral chief Bung Moktar Radin, to contest the seat, saying that the former has never served in the area.
Taman Sri Gaya branch chief Safar Sastro claimed to speak on behalf of 42 of the 45 Umno branch chiefs in Libaran, said today at a press conference in Sandakan that they wanted Musa as their candidate.
“We want to win, so we have no choice but to choose Tan Sri Musa to compete here (Sungai Manila). If Umno wants to win, name him (Musa) as a candidate.
“If victory is what we want, there is no one but Musa, the leader we adore,” he said, adding that his support was for BN.
“If Musa is not named a candidate, we will continue to vote for him regardless of which party he represents or whether he is running as an independent.”
Bung, who is also the head of Sabah Umno, left out Musa and other senior leaders of the state party who said they were aligned with the former prime minister from his list of 31 candidates yesterday.
The Kinabatangan MP told the media that the party respected all leaders, including Musa, but that the latter did not ask to be a candidate for these elections.
