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KOTA KINABALU: As the campaign period draws to a close for the Sabah 16th State Assembly elections, most of the party’s leaders decided to end their grueling two-week election campaign on their own territory today.
Warisan President Shafie Apdal and Sabah Barisan Nasional Election Chief Bung Moktar Radin were the most traveled leaders of the two largest parties in the state in recent weeks.
Both have traversed the vast state to lend their support to their fellow candidates and win votes from West Coast voters to interior regions and expanding East Coast districts.
Speaking to the FMT, Bung said that his last day of campaigning was in Kinabatangan, of which he is a deputy, and where the new Lamag state seat he is contesting is located.
He felt that the support for BN and its allies in Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) was “very encouraging” during his statewide tour.
“The winds of change are growing and people are beginning to realize that Warisan is not a government that can push Sabah forward in all aspects, including the economy, well-being and people’s development,” he said.
“I am confident that BN and GRS (which also include Perikatan Nasional and PBS) will be victorious tomorrow.”
Shafie, who had carried Warisan Plus, comprised of Warisan, Upko, DAP and PKR, on his back since the start of the campaign, was also confident in the possibilities of his coalition.
Facing the first real test of Warisan Plus as a coalition in a major election, yesterday he told reporters that he did not want to sound overconfident, but that “what he heard on the ground” pointed to a victory for the coalition.
Shafie spent the last day of the campaign period in Semporna, where he is a deputy. He defends his Senallang state seat against four others, including his nephew Norazman Utoh Nain of PN.
Likewise, the president of Parti Cinta Sabah, Anifah Aman, a former federal minister, had also campaigned for candidates in his party, which is contesting 73 seats, in Keningau, Putatan and Papar, among others.
Anifah, who is contesting the Bongawan state seat, told the FMT that during the campaign period, PCS had received a good response from Sabahans who believed in the party and what it was offering them.
“I think it is still premature to be able to say with certainty how many seats PCS can win. ‘Unlike the previous elections, we are celebrating it during a period when the Covid-19 pandemic is hitting us hard.
But still we have received good support. Being relatively new, I would say that this is a great achievement, not only for us but also for Sabahans who yearn for change. I hope this translates into a victory, ”he said.
Sabah NP chief Hajiji Noor, who is also the head of Sabah PPBM, did not stray too far from his Tuarian parliamentary base in the past two weeks, but is nonetheless optimistic of a NP and GRS victory in what It is your first choice in Sabah.
“The closer the election day gets, we are confident that the people want a change in the state government … we will win comfortably,” he told FMT. Hajiji is defending his seat from Sulaman in a three-sided affair.
Former PLD Prime Minister Chong Kah Kiat, on the other hand, visited Penampang today to close his party’s campaign and met people at the famous Donggongon tamu (market).
He told reporters that he hoped voters would give the PLD, of which he is honorary president for life, the mandate to form the next state government.
“We hope that people will give the LDP the opportunity to serve Sabah because our party is clean and has existed for 31 years in the state.
“Almost all of our candidates are young but, most importantly, we are honest,” he said.
More than 1.08 million voters will cast their votes tomorrow at 741 polling stations tomorrow.
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