SABAH POLLS | More than 20 Umno branch chiefs from four polling districts under the N51 Sungai Manila state seat have rejected the party's candidate, Mokran Ingkat.
With less than 24 hours to the Sabah state election nominations, the local leaders instead pledged support for incumbent Sungai Sibuga assemblyperson Musa Aman, whose fate remains a mystery after his name was absent from both BN and Perikatan Nasional's (PN) list of candidates.
Taman Sri Gaya Umno branch chairperson Sapar Sastro described Mokran as an "unknown" in the area, having never served the constituents or belonged to any of its branches.
"We from Dun N51 Sg Manila reject the candidate announced yesterday because he never did any work here.
"We want to win, so there is no other option besides Musa," Sapar said at a press conference in Libaran.
"If you (Umno) want to win, you must change the candidate.
"We want the candidate to be changed," stressed Sapar, who was accompanied by 23 Umno branch leaders and their supporters.
The N51 Sungai Manila seat is one of 13 new state constituencies created ahead of the Sabah polls.
A portion of its voters was shifted out from Sungai Sibuga, the seat held by Musa since 1994.
A majority of the branch leaders gathered today were party veterans and they claimed that Mokran, as a newcomer, was not a familiar face in the area.
Umno Rancangan Lubuh branch chairperson Hassan Kibing also said they would stand by Musa regardless of any decisions made.
"Whatever party he contests for, we will still support him," he said, adding that the former chief minister will still gain their votes even as an independent candidate.
It is understood that Musa is currently in Kuala Lumpur, even as top BN and PN leaders were in Kota Kinabalu for a gathering with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is also scheduled to visit Libaran Umno command centre later this afternoon to meet with local committee members and polling district chiefs.
Musa is technically still an Umno member, but his allegiance has been unclear since the 2018 general election.
On Wednesday, Musa had sparked speculations on his political future with a cryptic Facebook post stating, "I'm going back to Sungai Manila".
Aside from Mokran's candidacy in Sungai Manila, Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin yesterday also announced Mohamad Hamsan Awang Supian as the candidate for Sungai Sibuga. - Mkini
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