Sabah BN names candidate for Beluran seat, dropping Bersatu veep Kiandee
KOTA KINABALU, Nov 4 — The long-drawn out tussle between the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition and Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) over the contentious Beluran parliamentary seat is finally over with the latter naming its candidate, effectively kicking out Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) vice-president and incumbent Datuk Ronald Kiandee.
Sabah BN chairman Datuk Bung Moktar Radin named former Sandakan Municipal Council president Benedict Asmat for the seat in a statement late last night.
He had put off announcing the Beluran candidate during the party’s event to reveal its GE15 candidates on Wednesday, only saying that “they were still deciding.”
Bung also announced a change in the Umno candidate for Kalabakan from Aslin Fadli Samsul Alang to current Tanjung Batu assemblyman Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy.
Bung said that Benedict, 54, a member of the Umno Beluran division committee, was selected for his experience in public service, including at the Beluran district office and Semporna district office, as well as a stint as deputy permanent secretary in the Works Ministry, among others.
He has a degree in anthropology and sociology from Universiti Malaya.
“Sabah BN is confident that both these candidates, with their educated and professional background, will be able to represent the needs of the people and serve them well if elected to public office this election,” he said.
Kiandee, who is caretaker federal agriculture and food industries minister, is a five-term MP in the seat.
He won the seat in 2018 on a Barisan ticket but left the party in December 2018 with senior Sabah Umno leaders led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to join Bersatu when it spread its wings to Sabah.
GRS, led by Sabah Bersatu and Chief Minister Hajiji, are in a coalition government with Sabah BN.
