TAMPARULI: The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition is expected to face a nine-cornered contest in Tamparuli State seat during the upcoming 17th Sabah State Election (PRN17), with one of its strongest challengers likely to be Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau.
Madius, Tuaran Member of Parliament, represents the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko), a component party of Pakatan Harapan (PH).
In addition to PH, several other political parties are also expected to enter the race – among them Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN), Parti Impian Sabah (PIS) and Parti Pejuangan Tanah Air (Pejuang).
Other parties showing interest include Parti Warisan, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) and Parti Gemilang Anak Sabah (GAS).
Before the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly on Oct 6, the Tamparuli seat was held by Datuk Seri Jahid Jahim, who is PBS Deputy President and Rural Development Minister.
In the previous State election, Jahid retained the seat with 6,843 votes (a majority of 3,517 votes) in a four-cornered fight.
PBS, a GRS component, has yet to officially name its candidate for the seat, but the PBS Tamparuli Division has confirmed that Jahid will remain their sole candidate, pending endorsement from the coalition.
“Datuk Jahid, who also heads the PBS Tamparuli Division, remains the party’s sole choice for the Tamparuli constituency in PRN17.
“The decision was reached unanimously during the division meeting, based on his extensive experience as the area’s assemblyman over several terms,” said PBS Tamparuli in a statement.
Meanwhile, BN is expected to field Handry Luaran, the PBRS Tamparuli Division Chief, as its candidate. KDM is likely to nominate its Vice President and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) lecturer, Associate Professor Dr Gaim James Lunkapis.
For PIS, a newly established local party in Sabah, Silim Yamin is expected to be named as its candidate. Other parties, including Pejuang, PN, Warisan, Star and GAS, are anticipated to announce their respective candidates closer to nomination day.
The Tamparuli state constituency, created in 1974 following the redelineation of parts of the Sulaman and Kiulu constituencies, currently has 16,597 registered voters.
Non-Muslim Bumiputera form the majority of the population at about 69 per cent, followed by Muslim Bumiputera (24 per cent), with the remainder comprising Chinese and other ethnic groups.