FORMER PKR Sabah vice-chairman Kenny Chua will defend his Inanam seat as an independent after triggering the collapse of the Warisan Sabah government last month.

“I have to defend my seat. This is a fight to the end. My track record speaks for itself, I serve the rakyat,” Chua told reporters when met at Inanam today.

He said he was initially slated to contest the seat under a Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) ticket.

“But negotiations didn’t go through and they didn’t honour their promise, so I go in as an independent,” said Chua.

Chua is one of the 16 Sabah assemblymen who withdrew their support for the Warisan government last month to back Barisan Nasional’s Musa Aman in a bid to wrest the state back for the federal government.

The attempt was however foiled by Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, who obtained the Yang di-Pertua Negeri’s consent to dissolve the state assembly, paving the way for the 16th Sabah state elections. 

In 2018, Chua won the Inanam seat by 7,783 votes after collecting 13,633 votes in a six-cornered contest.

Meanwhile, the Inanam contest is shaping up to be a nine-cornered fight with Parti Cinta Sabah fielding its women chief Regina Lim, PBS’ William Majimbun, Liberal Democratic Party president Chong Kah Kiat, PKR’s Peto Galim, former MCA state deputy chairman Francis Goh, who is contesting on a PGRS ticket, and independents Achmad Noorasyrul Noortaip, Mohd Hardy Abdullah and Chua

The opposition in Sabah currently consists of Perikatan Nasional, Barisan Nasional, STAR, PBRS and PBS, while the Warisan Plus government coalition consists of Warisan, Pakatan Harapan and Upko.

Warisan Plus is led by Chief Minister Shafie while the opposition has not named its chief minister candidate.

The state elections in Sabah begins today with nominations, with polling set for September 26. According to the Election Commission, there will be 1.12 million voters for the polls.

The state assembly was dissolved last month after a failed attempt by Perikatan and BN to take over the state after 13 assemblymen decided to quit the Warisan government. – September 12, 2020.