KOTA KINABALU: Three Kiulu political leaders, including a former Sabah-level Unduk Ngadau winner will be vying for the Tuaran Parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15).
They are UPKO President Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, Kiulu Assemblyman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai and former beauty queen Jo-anna Sue Henley Rampas.
The three leaders’ candidacies have been endorsed by the leaders of their respective parties.
Madius, who will defend the Tuaran parliamentary seat, will contest on the Pakatan Harapan (PH) ticket while Joniston, who is also PBS Information chief, will use the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) logo.
Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) Wirawati deputy chief Jo-anna will contest using the Warisan symbol.
The struggle between the three figures is rather interesting because they faced each other in the stage of State elections (PRN) before.
Madius stood up to Joniston in the 2020 state elections (PRN) while Jo-anna had faced Joniston in the previous PRN that saw the results of both PRNs in favour of Joniston.
But this time the three of them will clash for the first time to secure the coveted seat in Parliment.
The battle of the three political figures is quite interesting because Parti Pejuang and possibly several independent candidates might join the fray which will certainly galvanise the excitement and warmth of the race for the Tuaran Parliamentary seat.
Political observer Mohd Zaki Harry Susanto stated that all three leaders were competent and experienced.
Political observer Mohd Zaki Harry Susanto
“I think all the candidates have equal chance of winning, despite the advantage to candidates from the ruling party.
“Based on observations, there are still many voters who are confused and think that this 15th general election is the same as state elections (PRN), In fact, GE15 and PRN are very different where in GE15 voters choose representatives to Parliament,” he said.
According to Zaki, winning two or three parliamentary seats alone is not enough to form a federal government on its own.
“This means that the elected Parliamentary representatives need to cooperate with any Malayan party including UMNO/BN, PN and PH to form the Federal government… so the issue of support for the Malayan party should not be raised or politicised,” he said.
Zaki hopes that the people of Sabah, especially young ones, will not waste the golden opportunity they have to elect representatives to Parliament, thereby helping stabilise the country’s political and economic situation.
