SANDAKAN: Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) has appointed a total of 25 coordinators for each parliament in the state in preparation for the upcoming 17th Sabah State Election.
Its chairman, Datuk Seri Panglima Bung Moktar Radin, said the proposal to appoint these coordinators had been submitted at the BN Supreme Council level for some time, but it was only approved earlier this month.
“We have long proposed the appointment of BN coordinators in all parliaments, but the BN Central has not had time to convene. On March 5, the BN Central held a meeting and approved the appointment of 25 BN coordinators in all parliaments in Sabah.
“In my opinion, this is very good because the appointed coordinators will call on the leaders in their respective areas to discuss the direction and future of BN in facing the elections.
“Although the election is expected to be held in September next year, in Sabah it usually occurs in less than 5 years.
“Therefore, we need to be prepared from the beginning to ensure that Umno and BN are truly capable of competing in the upcoming elections,” he said.
He said this after launching the Gerak17 Programme (Grassroots Tour) of Sabah for the Sungai Manila state constituency here on Saturday.
Also present were the Sabah UMNO secretary, Datuk Jafry Arifin, and the Sabah UMNO Information Chief, Datuk Suhaimi Nasir.
Meanwhile, when asked about cooperation with other parties ahead of PRN-17, Bung, who is also the Sabah UMNO Liaison Committee Chairman, said that discussions had indeed taken place, but they had not made any decisions yet.
“Discussing and deciding are two different things. We want to see which party we feel can bring benefits, and the leaders of that party should also respect our party and the joint decisions.
“We do not want to be betrayed after negotiations again. The lessons from the past have strengthened us to face any possibility,” said Bung Moktar.
