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KOTA KINABALU – Outgoing Upko president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau is not taking lightly the talk that he is headed towards certain election defeat in Tuaran should he attempt to defend the seat.
The incumbent Tuaran MP said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who is chairman of the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), should not fear him, but instead be thankful to Upko for what the party had done in the last Sabah election.
Tangau said Umno would still be in power in Sabah if not for Upko’s decision to leave Barisan Nasional (BN) then, and Tan Sri Musa Aman would still be chief minister.
Upko quit BN soon after the general election in 2018, which was before the state election in 2020.
If not for Upko’s move, Tangau claimed, Hajiji, who is also state Bersatu chief, would not have become the chief minister.
“You (Hajiji) should be thankful to Upko and not advise me not to contest,” Tangau said in a statement here today.
On October 13, Hajiji had told delegates at a meeting of Bersatu’s Tuaran division that Tangau would not stand a chance of retaining the constituency in the upcoming 15th general election.
Hajiji also called the Upko man a traitor who had brought his party out of BN to work with state opposition party Warisan in the 2018 polls.
Incidentally, Hajiji himself had left Umno, the main party in BN, in December 2018 to join Bersatu with several others.
He later became chief minister when the Bersatu-led parties under GRS made a pact with Umno to take control of Sabah after the 2020 state election.
Hajiji, who is also Sulaman assemblyman, had also claimed that Tangau would not be an MP if not for the votes from his constituents in the last election. Sulaman is a state constituency within Tuaran.
“My advice to him (Hajiji): there is no need to fear anyone, especially like me, a regular kampung boy,” said Tangau.
“As chief minister, he has the political authority in Sabah and also all the powers and capacity.
“There’s no need to trouble yourself by spending thousands of ringgit to hold a ceremony in Tuaran to advise me against contesting in Tuaran,” he said.
According to Tangau, Hajiji should have better things to do as the people are waiting for him to resolve their issues.
“What are the people to do when they have no water supply? Especially when they are holding a gathering event or in sadness when their relatives pass away.
“What about the graduates who are without jobs in Sabah? Or the mothers who do not have money to buy groceries due to the weak ringgit and the increase in the prices of goods? And what is the state government’s action in helping the people whose houses are dilapidated and unsafe in Mengkabong, Tuaran?” he asked. – The Vibes, October 17, 2022
