According to a Barisan Nasional (BN) source in one camp in the Sepanggar constituency, Rahman, who is a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, has already received the blessing of the acting Sepanggar Umno division chief.
However, another camp prefers current Sepanggar MP Jumat Idris to remain. They say if Jumat is not contesting in GE14, a local leader should take his place instead of an “outsider” like Rahman.
Among the names put forward by this group is Inanam youth activist Jerry Goh.
Speaking to FMT, Goh said he was surprised but flattered by the idea.
“I understand why they want locals because we understand the issues here better.
“However, I think this would only fracture the already fragile unity among BN members and supporters here.”
The supreme council member of the influential Sabah Sino-KDM Association said voters, especially in the urban and suburban areas of the Sepanggar constituency, were currently leaning towards the opposition.
“Whenever I ask people what they think of the current political situation, they all say, ‘As long as we change the government’. Sure, the rural folk are still hardcore BN voters, but that is beside the point.
“Sepanggar has more than 50,000 registered voters in 2013 and I think the number has grown. The area is so big, it would take more than two hours to get from one end to another.
“To manage this vast constituency, we need someone with experience and grit to identify what is required to further develop Sepanggar,” he said.
Brushing aside his chances of being nominated for the seat, Goh said he would prefer the constituency to be represented by a proven leader.
This leader, he said, should be able to attract the fence-sitters and woo voters to vote for the BN again.
He also disagreed that the candidate must be a local. He said as long as the candidate was a Sabahan, it did not matter where he or she was born.
“So if it is true that Rahman will be contesting here, I think it would be a great choice. We know he is a full minister and he can do a lot of good for us here.
“Rahman did a lot of good for Kota Belud. To have him as our MP here would be a blessing for the people in the Sepanggar constituency,” Goh said.
He added that instead of sowing discord among members in Sepanggar, the BN camps should unite to ensure that the coalition retained the seat in GE14.
Rahman won the Kota Belud seat in 2013 with a 5,095 majority, albeit with a lower percentage of voters – 51.44% compared with 54.62% in 2008.
The Sepanggar seat was created in 2004 and has been won by BN candidates in each election since then.
In the last election, Jumat won the seat with 22,845 votes, defeating his closest contender Jeffrey Kumin from PKR who garnered 13,403. Jumat secured a majority of 9,442 votes.
However, Jumat’s membership in Umno was suspended for three years in 2015 after he openly criticised Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman in a Facebook post.
In the post, Jumat had proposed that Musa be replaced by Shafie Apdal as Sabah Umno liaison chairman because Shafie was Umno vice-president.
Shafie subsequently left Umno to lead local opposition party, Parti Warisan Sabah.
The Sepanggar seat is considered a hot seat with PBS, the Liberal Democratic Party and the United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) once demanding it for themselves.
When it was created, the seat was given to the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) until the party left BN after the 2008 election to become part of the opposition.
It has since been given to Umno.