DATUK BOB OFFERS INCLUSIVE APPROACH AS ARFANSHAH BANKS ON YOUTH IN DARAU BATTLE

By Syed Iylia Hariz Al-Qadri Syed Izman and Muhammad Saufee Rosman

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- As Darau returns to the ballot for a second time, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates are each counting on their own strengths to win the seat.

GRS candidate Datuk Mohd Razali Razi, 56, is determined to promote a more structured, inclusive and sincerity-driven political approach, while BN’s Arfanshah Abdul Gafar, 38, is confident that his youth will be a key advantage in winning over voters in the 17th Sabah State Election.

Mohd Razali, a Darau native better known as “Datuk Bob”, said his political philosophy is simple: to listen, understand and act based on the people’s real needs without making promises beyond his capacity.

“You don’t go down and teach people. Open your ears, you have more information, you have more knowledge. And it should always be based on sincerity. Very simple,” he told Bernama.

Facing a six-cornered fight, he said Darau’s uniqueness as a suburban constituency combining villages and housing estates, with 33,016 electors, demands a versatile elected representative who understands both rural and urban realities.

If given the mandate, Mohd Razali said his first agenda would be to establish a Village Management and Planning Council involving village heads, the Village Development and Security Committee, mosque chairpersons and youth representatives, to ensure that every issue is recorded, discussed and monitored more professionally.

He said such a structure would allow the constituency’s performance to be clearly assessed.

On the three main issues of water, electricity and roads, he acknowledged that Darau faces similar challenges as other areas but said the situation has been improving and expressed confidence that they can be resolved by next year.

He also stressed the need to focus on youth aged 18 to 39, who make up 58.21 per cent of voters.

“Youths nowadays, they are in revolt because they want change. So we have to get them involved in the system,” he said, adding that the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) entrepreneurship programmes must be brought directly to the villages to ensure young people are not left behind.

Mohd Razali said his consistency in engaging with the people is his real strength and, although labelled an “underdog”, his struggle in Darau is about heart and identity, not merely politics.

“What does Darau mean to me? It’s my hometown, that’s why my slogan is ‘Darau di Hati’. When you put it in your heart, you have compassion, based on my love and affection for Darau,” he said.

Meanwhile, Arfanshah is optimistic that his status as a young candidate will help attract support from young voters, especially since many are still fence-sitters.

“Young voters here are those below 40 years old. So we will definitely try to secure their support, and perhaps this is also why BN is fielding many young candidates to woo them over,” he said.

Although he did not expect to be nominated by BN, Arfanshah, who is also Sabah UMNO Youth secretary, said his experience as a wing leader, along with early indications from the central and divisional leadership, had prepared him to shoulder the responsibility with full commitment.

The Sepanggar UMNO Division Youth chief admitted that the contest ahead will be challenging but remains confident that BN has a strong chance of capturing the Darau seat this time, based on its comprehensive development agenda.

“In the previous state election, we (BN) lost by a slim margin of just over 500 votes. However, in the 15th General Election, we actually won with a majority of more than 1,000 votes. So we are optimistic about recapturing this seat,” he said.

On the “Sabah-for-Sabahan” sentiment that often surfaces during elections, he said the issue has minimal impact in Darau as BN has long been established in the state and is well accepted by the local community.

Darau is located within the Sepanggar parliamentary constituency, alongside the Karambunai and Inanam state constituencies.

Polling is scheduled for Nov 29, with early voting on Nov 25.

For the latest news on the state election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/sabah.

N17: DARAU: SABAH: 33,016

1. Meriah Osman                                             (PIS)

2. Azhar Matussin                                            (Warisan)

3. Arfansyah Abdul Gafar                                (BN-UMNO)

4. Nordin A.H.Thani                                         (KDM)

5. Nabila Norsahar                                          (PN-Bersatu)

6. Datuk Mohamed Razali Mohamed Razi      (GRS-Gagasan Rakyat)

(2020: Azhar Matussin: Warisan Plus-Warisan: Maj: 562)

-- BERNAMA