SABAH POLLS: HAJIJI IN FIVE-CORNERED FIGHT IN SULAMAN

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is facing a five-cornered contest in the Sulaman seat in the 17th Sabah State Election.

The matter was announced by returning officer Ibrahim Terki at the nomination centre at Dewan Seri Sulaman in Tuaran.

Hajiji, who is also Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman, arrived at the nomination centre at 9 am, accompanied by proposer Datuk Abdul Kassim Razali and seconder Sylvia Belinggi.

In the last state election, Hajiji won the Sulaman seat with a majority of 3,099 votes. 

Hajiji, who is also Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS) president, is challenged by young and first-time Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Dr Shahnon Rizal Thaijuddin, as well as Mokhtar Hussin of Parti Warisan (Warisan), Tiaminah @ Siti Aminah Ele of Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Parti Impian Sabah (PIS) candidate Pajudin Nordin.

Earlier, GRS supporters marched from the PGRS Sulaman headquarters in Tuaran town to accompany Hajiji and three other party candidates — Datuk Joniston Bangkuai (Kiulu), Datuk Jasnih Daya (Pantai Dalit) and Associate Prof Dr Bonaventure Bonaface (Tamparuli).

Sulaman has 18,352 registered voters.

Dewan Seri Sulaman also serves as the nomination centre for the Pantai Dalit, Tamparuli and Kiulu seats. 

When met by reporters, Hajiji was confident of being re-elected despite the five-cornered contest.

“This is democracy. Everyone has the right to contest. However, I am very confident that GRS will secure a large majority in the Sulaman area,” Hajiji, who has held the Sulaman seat since 1990, said. 

Hajiji was also optimistic that GRS and Pakatan Harapan (PH) would go on to form the state government. 

The Election Commission has set polling for Nov 29, with early voting on Nov 25.

For the latest news on the Sabah polls, visit https://prn.bernama.com/sabah/index.php

-- BERNAMA