KINABATANGAN, LAMAG BY-ELECTIONS: FINAL PUSH AS CAMPAIGN ENTERS SECOND PHASE

KINABATANGAN, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- The first phase of campaigning for the Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state by-elections has seen a relatively moderate campaign pattern, with most candidates scheduling between one and five programmes a day.

Bernama’s observation found that most of the candidates opted for face-to-face, door-to-door approaches and small group ceramah, rather than organising large-scale events, in their efforts to woo voters.

The seven days of campaigning since Jan 10 were also calmer and less lively than those experienced during the Sabah state election held on Nov 29, particularly in terms of flag and poster displays, except in a few areas where small-scale “flag wars” were observed.

The wide geographical spread of the parliamentary and state constituencies, limited road access and reliance on water transport in several locations were identified as among the main challenges faced by all five candidates — three for the parliamentary seat and two for the state seat — in reaching voters.

However, the campaign is expected to pick up pace as it enters the second phase, with all candidates trying to reach as many voters as possible before the campaign period ends at 11.59 pm on Jan 23.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Kinabatangan, Mohd Kurniawan Naim Moktar, stressed that his priority was to visit all 27 polling district centres (PDM) in the constituency to better understand the pulse of the local community, adding that he had so far visited 19 PDMs.

“Every concern and request from residents will be carefully assessed before being made the basis for action… only by seeing the actual situation can development planning be drawn up accurately and comprehensively,” he told Bernama today.

BN's Lamag candidate Mohd Ismail Ayob, better known as Miha, said he had reached 80 per cent of the constituency in the first week of campaigning.

“We leave it to the people to assess the campaign approach, but based on the positive response received, it has been quite encouraging,” he said.

Meanwhile, Parti Warisan (Warisan) candidate for the Kinabatangan seat, Datuk Saddi Abdul Rahman, said his campaign had achieved about 50 per cent coverage in the first week and would focus on areas yet to be visited in the second week.

The Warisan candidate for Lamag, Mazliwati Abdul Malek, said her campaign had covered the entire constituency.

As for the independent candidate for Kinabatangan, Goldam Hamid, his campaign has covered about 70 per cent of the areas in the Sukau and Lamag state constituencies.

The Kinabatangan by-election sees a three-way battle involving Mohd Kurniawan Naim, Saddi and Goldam, while the Lamag by-election is a straight fight between Mohd Ismail and Mazliwati.

Both by-elections were called following the death of the incumbent, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, 66, on Dec 5 last year.

Polling is on Jan 24, and early voting is on Jan 20 for both by-elections.

Kinabatangan has 48,722 registered voters, comprising 48,526 ordinary voters and 196 police personnel and their spouses as early voters, while Lamag has 13,899 electors.

The official vote-tallying centre for both by-elections is at Dewan Sri Lamag.

A total of 36 ordinary polling centres with 117 voting streams, as well as one early voting centre at the Kinabatangan district police headquarters with one stream, will be used.

According to the Election Commission, all polling centres will open from 8 am to 5 pm, except for 20 polling centres in three state constituencies -- Lamag, Kuamut and Sukau -- which will close earlier, between noon and 4 pm. 

-- BERNAMA