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KOTA KINABALU – Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Barisan Nasional (BN) have entered the final stages of negotiations to select candidates for the general election and the Bugaya state by-election, said GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The Sabah chief minister said those picked would be winnable candidates who the public would accept and could serve them well.
“GRS and BN will always give their cooperation and support to whoever is selected to be a candidate,” he told reporters after officiating at the convocation ceremony for Yayasan Sabah College of Technology here today.
The Election Commission today fixed polling for the national polls on November 19, nomination for November 5, and early voting for November 15.
The Bugaya by-election will be held at the same time. The state seat fell vacant after the death of its assemblyman Manis Muka Mohd Darah on November 17, 2020 but the by-election was postponed following the proclamation of an emergency to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
Effective October 6 this year, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong consented to lifting six ordinances and emergency proclamations which were declared in November and December 2020 to postpone the Batu Sapi and Gerik parliamentary by-elections and the Bugaya state by-election.
Hajiji said cooperation between GRS and BN in administering Sabah was important for stability and to implement programmes and initiatives under the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya plan.
“I have told the leadership at the federal level not to disturb us in Sabah. We hold to this understanding and promise because we have three more years to rule,” he added. – Bernama, October 20, 2022