SABAHANS COULDN’T BE BOTHERED WITH NAJIB – ‘BOSSKU’ GETS ONLY LUKEWARM RESPONSE WHILE PLAYING ‘BUSY BODY’ IN KIMANIS

 (STAND ALONE) Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was greeted by strong BN supporters at Menbakut during Kimanis by election. - ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / THE STAR

BEAUFORT: Former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak got a lukewarm response as he walked about the small Membakut township as part of his “Bossku” campaign on the eve of Kimanis nomination day.

There were more Barisan Nasional supporters surrounding him while there were few locals pushing to get to him.

Najib was in Membakut to try to pitch support for Barisan’s candidate Mohamad Alamin.

He arrived at about 3.30pm Friday (Jan 3) and spent some time with Barisan members at the Membakut polling district operations centre before he went on a walkabout around the shops and market.

His supporters who turned up in small numbers welcomed him with “Bossku has arrived” and “Malu Apa Bossku” ((What is there to be ashamed of, my boss) chants.

During his meeting with Barisan members, Najib highlighted two issues that he felt was of great concern of the Sabahans.

“One is the Pan Borneo project from Kota Kinabalu to Kimanis which was supposed to be a mega project that would help change the socio landscape here and the other is the Sabah Temporary Passes (PSS), ” he said.

He said with the new government taking over after GE14, the Pan Borneo project has been on a standstill.

“The expected benefits the people of Kimanis would have enjoyed if we (Barisan) was still in power are now delayed, ” Najib said.

Thus, he urged voters in Sabah to voice their dissatisfaction to the current government by voting for Barisan’s candidate in the coming by-election.

As for the PSS, he said that it would change the political landscape in Sabah if it is allowed to proceed and added that the future generation would blame them for allowing foreigners to take away job opportunities, among other rights.

Najib said the outcome of the Kimanis by-election would be a mini-referendum for the government on what the people’s sentiments were.

Asked whether his presence here in Kimanis would negatively affect the outcome of the by-election, as claimed by some quarters following Barisan’s loss in the Sandakan by-election on May 2019, he said he was requested by voters to come to Kimanis.

“So I believe they want me here, ” he said.

The Kimanis parliamentary by-election is scheduled to on Jan 18, with nomination day on Jan 4.

The Election Court had on Aug 16 declared null and void Datuk Seri Anifah Aman’s win in the Kimanis seat in Sabah in GE14.

Anifah had won the seat with a 156-vote majority, securing 11,942 votes against Karim Bujang’s (Parti Warisan Sabah) 11,786 votes while another candidate, Jaafar Ismail of Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, had obtained 1,300 votes.

Karim had filed the election petition on June 18 last year to challenge the election result.

On Friday, Anifah failed in his final legal bid to have the Federal Court review its decision to dismiss his appeal to set aside the Election Court’s ruling which nullified his Kimanis parliamentary seat win.

MKINI