Musa’s brother Anifah under seige in Sabah

Luke Rintod

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman who has been MP since 1999 has overstayed his welcome, according to certain quarters in Sabah Umno.

KOTA KINABALU: In what appears to be a sudden and open confrontation for change, hundreds of Umno members in Kimanis constituency are demanding that a new candidate be allowed to contest in place of Foreign Minister Anifah Aman in the next general election.

Anifah is Kimanis MP and brother to Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman.

A group of Umno members calling themselves the Leadership Transformation Movement said they are demanding for this change because Anifah, who is also the Foreign Minister, has been a member of parliament for the area for too long and it is time to replace him.

So far there has been three demonstrations to voice their demand. The first was held in Dewan Kampung Pimping on Jan 21, the second in Dewan Lama Pekan Bongawan on Jan 22 and the third was held over for two days on Jan 23 and 24 in Dindong, Kampung Bambangan, Membakut.

Awang Kamis Awang Ahmad, who is a member of the Kimanis Umno division’s Youth Wing and the organising chairman of the first demonstration in Pimping, said some 500 people participated in the demonstration.

Another youth wing member, Wang Mohd Rizam who chaired the organising committee for the Pekan Bongawan demonstration claimed the attendance was more than 700 people.

According to the organisor of the third demonstration, Asno Amat Muda, there were 300 Umno members over the two-day protest. All demo participants signed registration books.

Anifah has overstayed

The main grievance against Anifah is that he has been the MP for Kimanis for too long and also because he is not from the area.

Said Awang Rizam: “He has represented Kimanis for four terms now. Before he was the MP for Kimanis beginning in 2004, he was the MP for Beaufort, which then included Kimanis, beginning in 1999.

“Our main reason for demanding that he be replaced is the fact that he is not from Kimanis.

“It is long overdue for someone from Kimanis itself to represent this area. The arrangement whereby a constituency is represented by an outsider is outdated and should no longer be practiced by Umno.

“It is also an insult to the people of Kimanis as if Kimanis doesn’t have anyone qualified to be its own MP.”
Many see Awang Rizam’s spewing as a direct challenge to the leadership of not only of Anifah but Musa as well.

Demos linked to Lajim?

Kimanis is a Bruneian majority (about 58%) constituency. The second biggest community in this constituency is the Kadazandusuns who comprise about 38% of voters and the rest are Chinese and others.

“We are not very particular about what racial identity of our next MP will be as long as he or she is from Kimanis,” Asno said.

Anifah, like Musa is from Bingkul, Beaufort.

The three organisors justified holding the demonstrations saying it was aimed at showing the seriousness of the voters in Kimanis.

They warned that the series of demonstrations will continue.

“More demonstrations will be held soon. The next ones are in Kampung Binsuluk, Kampung Madang Pimping, Kampung Biau, Bongawan, and in Kampung Poring ,” said Asno.

Nearby Beaufort parliamentary seat meanwhile is represented by Lajim Ukin who reportedly has fallen out with Musa and Anifah. It is learnt that Lajim would be dropped as a candidate in the coming general election.

Observers noted that the demonstration comes on the heels of the Lajim issue and the open demand for Anifah to be replaced could not have happened at more opportune time for the opposition.