Its division chief Wetrom Bahanda said after a meeting with chief minister and Sabah Umno chief Musa Aman that Kota Marudu Umno would mobilise its machinery and members to ensure victory for BN there.
“We will support whichever candidates are nominated by Barisan Nasional in Kota Marudu. That is clear,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
“And I have explained to the chief minister we will make sure that all BN candidates win,” he said, in the wake of some contention over the Matunggong state seat within the boundaries of Kota Marudu. The other state seat there is Tandek.
Matunggong is part of Parti Bersatu Sabah’s (PBS) quota in BN’s electoral power-sharing concept.
Umno vice-president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi during his a recent visit to Kota Marudu had proposed that PBS lend it to Umno to increase BN’s chances of winning it with a bigger majority.
In the last general election, the seat, a PBS stronghold since the party rejoined BN in 2002, fell to PKR’s Jelani Hamdan with a slim majority of 320 votes.
Jelani, a former Kota Marudu Umno division chief, subsequently left the opposition party to become a BN-friendly independent.