Independent Jelani Hamdan sets aside politics, for now

KOTA KINABALU: Matunggong’s independent assemblyman Jelani Hamdan has decided to set aside politics until the end of this month as he concentrates on finishing his PhD in Business Administration studies.

Jelani, who won the seat on a PKR ticket in the last election before leaving the party just five months later to become a Barisan Nasional (BN)-friendly assemblyman, said at the moment, politics and where he will be come election time will only be decided in March.

“I have received offers from BN parties and opposition parties, including Parti Warisan Sabah, to join them.

“However, I intend to focus first on resolving the recurring electricity and water problems in my constituency and on my viva presentation for my PhD which was postponed for the Chinese New Year break. Until I am done with it, I will not decide on my political direction,” he told FMT.

He said he does not care which party he represents or which side of the political divide he will stand for as he only wants to represent the people in the best way possible.

However, Jelani who is the first lawyer from among his people, the Rungus, dismissed any suggestion that he would be standing as an independent candidate.

“According to surveys we have done, so far, the voters still support me. In fact, we might even consider going for the Kota Marudu parliamentary seat,” he said.

The Kota Marudu parliamentary seat is currently held by PBS deputy president Maximus Ongkili, who is also the federal energy, green technology and water minister.

Both state seats under the Kota Marudu constituency, Tandek and Matunggong, were also contested by PBS.

In the last general election, Jelani won Matunggong with a narrow 320-vote majority in a four-cornered fight, with his closest rival being PBS’ Sarapin Magana.

PBS had objected to the decision by its fellow BN component Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) to accept the membership of another former PKR assemblyman Jeremy Malajad in 2014.

Malajad defeated Timbon Lagadan, the PBS candidate in Kadamaian, in the last election with a 889-vote majority.

Jelani was subsequently approached by PBRS to join the party, which did not materialise as both sides failed to come to an agreement.

“At this juncture, I don’t care which party I will represent. As long as it subscribes to the idea of protecting Sabah’s rights as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and other related agreements or understandings, it will be okay.

“The most important for me is to win the seat because there is no point in contesting a seat if we don’t win,” he said.

He also repeated his opinion that Ongkili has overstayed in his constituency and that the people would prefer to vote for local leaders, choosing personality over party. -FMT