KOTA KINABALU: A former aide to Anifah Aman has claimed that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had offered Anifah to stand as the Barisan Nasional candidate in the Kimanis by-election but he declined.
Anifah’s former political secretary, Norhaidi Che Dan, said he learnt that former prime minister Najib Razak had also tried to persuade Anifah to contest the seat for BN.
He said Zahid had offered Anifah the candidacy when the Election Commission announced the date for the by-election, to be held on Jan 18.
“But he declined Zahid’s offer because they wanted him to stand under the BN logo but he had already left Umno since last year.
“If Anifah wanted to challenge for the seat, it would have been under another party, a locally based one.
“If he were interested to defend the seat under BN, he would have lobbied for it but he did not. He is not interested in defending the seat, what more under BN,” Norhaidi told FMT.
Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin had previously said they were willing to consider Anifah, who quit Umno in September last year to be an independent, as their candidate but only if he agreed to stand under a BN ticket.
Norhaidi said Anifah also declined Zahid’s offer because he did not agree with the court’s decision to nullify his win in the last general election as well as to protest against the EC’s handling of the election process.
The Kimanis seat fell vacant after the Federal Court decided to uphold the election court’s decision to declare Anifah’s victory null and void.
The election court said it had found discrepancies in the conduct of the election process and widespread non-compliance of the election laws, which had affected the outcome of the polls.
Anifah, a former foreign minister, had previously announced he will not defend the seat but was considering suing the EC for damages.
Norhaidi also dismissed reports that Anifah’s sons, Ahmad Firdaus and his younger brother Ahmad Zachry – said to be on Umno’s shortlist of candidates – were interested to contest.
He said Zachry was not a politician while Firdaus, although an Umno member, was “simply not interested”. Firdaus is the Kimanis Umno Youth chief, while Zachry is an ordinary Umno member.
It was reported that the duo were among six names being considered by Sabah Umno for the by-election. - FMT
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