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KOTA KINABALU: Removing former Prime Minister Musa Aman from Barisan Nasional’s list of candidates for Sabah state elections could spell trouble for the coalition, analysts say.
Sabah UiTM’s Tony Paridi Bagang said that BN would ultimately regret the day they omitted a strong political figure like Musa, especially after he professed his intention to contest Sungai Manila’s new seat in the Lebanese parliament constituency.
“Musa has strong grassroots support. Therefore, taking him out of the lineup can lead to his supporters voting against BN, ”he told the FMT, referring to the likelihood of sabotage within the coalition.
“But to be fair, we also want to know why Musa is not on the list. Otherwise, it makes people speculate and create negative perceptions. “
The leader of the BN electoral machinery, Bung Moktar Radin, was quoted by Astro Awani as saying that Musa is not on the coalition’s candidate list for the elections.
The Sabah Umno chief told Astro Awani that no discussions were held about Musa’s presence in Sungai Manila, even though the latter had hinted at it earlier today.
“His name is not on the list of BN candidates that will be released tomorrow,” he was quoted by the portal.
BN plans to announce its candidates for the polls tomorrow at 10 am.
Meanwhile, Romzi Ationg from Universiti Malaysia Sabah also agreed with Bagang’s view, saying that if it was true that Musa was left out, this could result in BN losing support and, more importantly, votes.
“Many of Musa’s staunch supporters will likely protest (his omission),” he said.
FMT reached out to some Umno leaders, but they declined to comment, preferring to wait until Bung announces the list of candidates tomorrow.
Musa tonight sparked speculation about where he might be in the next state election in a Facebook post.
Musa, who is the incumbent Assemblyman of Sungai Sibuga, wrote: “I will return to Sungai Manila.”
Meanwhile, Bagang maintained that if what Bung said was true, it proved that there were indeed factions within BN, especially in Umno.
“However, it may just be a political strategy for other BN / Perikatan Nasional allies to win seats.
“Who knows, he (Musa) may even be under other banners, like STAR or PBS,” he said.
Romzi, however, opined that with Musa out of the picture, support for BN could grow with greater clarity on who people would vote for to be the next prime minister.
“The move (to shut out Musa) could result in more votes if voters see the act as an effort to ensure that there is only one potential CM candidate among the opposition in Sabah,” he said.
