Former journalist Joniston Bangkuai will now contest the Kiulu seat ending two days of confusion over PBS's candidate list.
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah leader Joseph Pairin Kitingan remained true to form and reversed his decision on his party’s list of candidates to stand for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in the 13th general election.
After leaving out the Sabah Journalist Association president Joniston Bangkuai from the initial list, Pairin acquiesced to the wishes of national BN hierarchy and named him as the party’s nominee for the Kiulu seat.
Bangkuai’s selection comes as a birthday present as the New Straits Times journalist marked his 51st birthday on yesterday. He had been waiting in the wings of the party since before the last election to be named as a candidate.
The reversal on the name list by the mercurial Pairin comes as more of the same from the veteran native leader who is known to be politically ambivalent.
His decision yesterday ended two days of confusion in the party as well as for incumbent assemblyman Louis Rampas. Bangkuai appeared to have been snubbed on Tuesday when Pairin announced that the Rampas was retained to defend the seat for the national coalition.
A senior PBS leader leaked news that a faction within PBS was unhappy with Pairin’s decision and had threatened to revolt.
Bangkuai, is reportedly close to PBS No. 2 Maximus Ongkili who is poised to takeover from the ageing Pairin.
Bangkuai had been passed over for a state seat in the 2008 elections.
According to the party insider, the first list read out to the media by Pairin on Tuesday was different from the list of candidates approved by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak with at least three state seats substituted by the party during a supreme council meeting the same morning.
Najib’s list had named Bangkuai to replace Rampas in Kiulu, while Inanam incumbent assemblyman Johnny Goh was dropped in place of Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCS) treasurer general Joseph Paulus Latip.
Second time lucky
PBS secretary general Henrynus Amin was also listed to defend the Kundasang seat, taking over from Dr Joachim Gunsalam, but Pairin had not named him.
The announcement was met with disappointment by those dropped and Bangkuai reportedly sought advice from top Barisan Nasional leaders.
Bangkuai was eventually called at 10am today to meet Pairin who formally informed him that he will be the BN candidate for Kiulu, a traditional PBS stronghold which Rampas had represented since 2004.
Previous people’s representative for Kiulu were Payar Juman, a minister in the Usno government, former chief minister, the late Tun Fuad Stephens and cabinet minister Rahimah Stephens during the Berjaya government.
Before Rampas, the assemblyman was Gisin Lombut. The reinstatement of Bangkuai as the PBS candidate is the second time lucky for him as he was also named the party’s candidate in the 2008 general election but was later sidelined.
Since then Bangkuai, a Justice of Peace who was conferred the title of ‘Datuk’ while still working as a journalist immersed himself in party politics an won the Kiulu PBS divisional deputy chairmanship two years ago.
He is married to Lucy Irene Yong, head of corporate affairs at Sabah Shell.
She once served as press secretary to Pairin when he was chief minister as well as Sakaran Dandai who replaced him in 1994.
Amin poised to be reinstated
Bangkuai began his career in journalism with national news agency Bernama before moving to RTM. He resigned from government services to join Sabah Times and later the New Straits Times based in Kota Kinabalu.
Bangkuai, who is from Kiulu, is likely to face PKR’s Rhodes Panilau and a yet to be named candidate from the Sabah State Reform Party (STAR)
In the 2008 general election Rampas won the seat with a 1,266 votes majority when he polled 4,051 while the PKR candidate Gaibin Ransoi obtained 2,785 votes.
Based on previous elections results, Kiulu is a safe seat for the BN and it is believed that this was one of the factors that weighed in when naming Bangkuai, a political novice, as the candidate.
Meanwhile, in Inanam, the sudden change in candidate led to Goh’s supporters marching to PBS headquarters in Donggongon Penampang to seek explanation and to demand that the incumbent be allowed to contest as announced on Tuesday.
But the party leadership remained unmoved and stuck to list that Pairin had ignored just two days ago.
In Kundasang, Amin, who had protested his removal from the list of candidates by Pairin by updating his Facebook profile to state former PBS secretary general, looks set to be reinstated as the candidate to replace incumbent Gunsalam.
Joseph Bingkasan
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