Bung’s son says he’s contesting Kinabatangan for BN

In a statement, Naim Kurniawan thanks BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for giving him the mandate to defend the parliamentary seat.

Naim Kurniawan said the moment would have been ‘complete’ if his late father, Bung Moktar Radin, had been present to witness his candidacy. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 Naim Kurniawan, the son of the late Bung Moktar Radin, said today he has been named as Barisan Nasional’s candidate for the Kinabatangan parliamentary by-election scheduled for January.

Naim revealed this in a Facebook post, where he also thanked BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for placing his trust in him and giving him the mandate to defend the seat.

“This is not merely a party mandate; it also carries the collective hopes and expectations of the people of Kinabatangan, who look to be represented and defended,” he said.

Naim said the moment would have been “complete” if his late father had been present to witness his candidacy.

Zahid, who is also Umno president, said yesterday the coalition was considering fielding Naim as its candidate for the Kinabatangan seat. He said Bung, who was Sabah BN chairman, had previously suggested that his son be given the opportunity to contest the seat, although the matter has yet to be brought to the Umno and BN Supreme Councils.

He said feedback from voters in Kinabatangan towards Naim has also been positive.

The Kinabatangan seat and the Lamag state seat were left vacant following Bung’s death on Dec 5. The by-elections will be held simultaneously on Jan 24, with nomination day and early voting scheduled for Jan 10 and Jan 20 respectively.

In the Sabah election on Nov 29, Bung retained Lamag with a majority of 153 votes in a six-way contest.

Bung had represented Kinabatangan in the Dewan Rakyat since 1999. He was re-elected for his sixth term in 2022, winning by a majority of 4,330 votes over his Warisan rival, Mazliwati Abdul Malek Chua. - FMT