THE rift in Umno will likely hand a win to the opposition in the Sabah parliamentary seat of Sepanggar in the 14th general election.

Rumours are running rife that a sabotage will take place as there are Umno members unhappy with the move to suspend incumbent Jumat Idris, who, despite the decision, has reiterated his allegiance to Barisan Nasional.

The seat will see a four-cornered battle, but all eyes are trained on two candidates: Jumat’s replacement, Umno strongman Abdul Rahman Dahlan, and popular Parti Warisan Sabah Youth chief Azis Jamman.

Azis, a nephew of Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal, held the post of Semporna Umno Youth chief when his uncle was the party’s vice-president.

The other two candidates are Sabah Progressive Party’s Jeffrey Kumin and Parti Cinta Sabah’s Robert Sopining.

The hot topic of discussion now is over Warisan and Umno’s decision to field “outsiders” in Sepanggar.

Azis said even if Jumat were to defend the seat, Warisan would still field a candidate.

“When I went down to the ground over the last six months, people came up to me and said ‘Sabah’, which I gladly responded with ‘Ubah’ (change),” he said after a walkabout in Telipok town today.

Sepanggar has 62,415 voters, of which 55% are natives, Chinese (20%), Malays (19%) and others (6%).

Azis said the Chinese and non-Muslim Bumiputeras, such as the Kadazandusun, Murut and Rungus, have made up their minds about voting for Warisan.

He said the challenge now is getting support in the Karambunai state seat, which was won by Umno’s Jainab Ahmad Ayid in the last elections. Karambunai has the highest concentration of Muslim Bumiputeras and Malays in Sepanggar.

“The Chinese and (non-Muslim Bumiputeras) have made up their minds. All of them want change.

“But in Karambunai, too, Jainab is beginning to lose support. In some areas, Jainab is no longer welcome.

“Just the other day, we went to Kg Rampayan, a hardcore Jainab area. In 2013, the attendance at PKR events there was low, but this time around, attendance is high. Easily 700 to 800 people, although there are still many BN flags there.”

The other state seat in Sepanggar is Inanam, which PKR’s Dr Roland Chia won in GE13. However, he will not be defending his seat after failing to meet the party’s requirements.

Chia has been replaced with businessman Kenny Chua, whose family hail from Inanam Laut. – May 3, 2018.