Warisan candidate for the Kimanis by-election Datuk Karim Bujang conducts a walkabout at the weekly farmers’ market in Membakut January 5, 2020. — Bernama pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — Datuk Karim Bujang hopes national oil and gas company Petronas will shift its refinery from Bintulu in Sarawak to Kimanis, Sabah.
The Parti Warisan Sabah candidate for the Kimanis parliamentary by-election said a plant in the northern Borneo state will create more jobs for locals and also eliminate the need for Petronas to send raw materials to Sarawak for processing as it is currently doing.
“There is some leftover here and maybe we can discuss with Petronas to have them set up a processing plant in Kimanis so that we can provide jobs for the Kimanis people,” Karim was quoted as saying in The Star website during a walkabout this morning in Membakut, one of two state constituencies in Kimanis.
Sabah is controlled by Warisan, an ally of the federal Pakatan Harapan government, while Sarawak is led by Gabungan Parti Sarawak, a coalition comprising local parties that were formerly part of the peninsula-based Barisan Nasional (BN) pact.
Karim’s remarks were in response to Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal’s suggestion that the state stop sending all its oil and gas to Sarawak for processing.
Karim was a former state assistant minister during the BN administration.
He is facing off against the BN candidate from Umno and his junior, Datuk Mohamad Alamin, in the January 18 poll.
During his walkabout in Membakut town and the weekly market today, Karim told reporters that he had received a mixed response from locals on the government change after GE14.
“Some are happy and some are not,” he was quoted as saying.