The party is attempting to make a comeback with former Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia, its de facto leader, recently expressing hope that the party can win at least 20 of the 47 seats it is contesting in the Sabah polls.
Political observers and detractors have however made light of the party’s ambitions, questioning whether Pandikar has the capability and credentials to guide the party back to its glory days.
But his supporters have brushed off criticisms levelled against their leader, saying people were quick to judge without even caring to find out the truth.
Azman Syah, 39, said the naysayers were questioning what Pandikar had contributed so far to Pintasan, one of four state seats in the Kota Belud parliamentary area.
The other state seats there are Kadamaian, Tempasuk and Usukan.
“They are saying Pandikar had not brought any development for Usukan or Pintasan, especially when he was the speaker.
“But don’t forget he was only the speaker in Parliament and not the local elected representatives who by right should be asked all these questions,” he told FMT at Usno’s Kampung Pantai Emas headquarters here.
He said contrary to what had been claimed, Pandikar had actually done a lot for the Iranun ethnic community in the area, even funding the creation of a dictionary on the Iranun language.
“He had also given out personal donations to families in need, school children and even helped a handful of students who wanted to pursue their higher studies.
“It’s just that he did not publicise this on social media or call the press to show he had done these things. His character is like this but this is known among the people here,” Azman said.
Another Kampung Pantai Emas resident, Mohd Khairul Azman, 33, said Pandikar also helped build a school specially to teach the Iranun language, culture and traditions.
“Young children from the age of six are schooling there and there were even two Orang Putih (Westerners) who learned the language there and they became quite good at speaking in Iranun.
“Besides that, Pandikar also managed to bring in investors to develop the tourism industry in nearby Kuala Abai. They have built jetties there for boats to transfer tourists to Pulau Mantanani (off Kota Belud) where their resorts are located.
“All these have generated income and jobs for the locals here. I think certain individuals, who for one reason or another missed out on these opportunities, became sour and have started to talk bad about Pandikar. All their allegations are not true,” he claimed.
Khairul said Pintasan has over 10,000 voters, of which more than half are from the Iranun community. Most of the residents are either involved in padi cultivation or fishing.
Maibat Ahmad, 72, did not deny the previous governments had helped the local residents but that it was not enough.
“They’ve given monetary assistance. But many residents here still don’t have clean water supply. Some days we will get water in our pipes but, most of the time, the water pressure is too low.
“Besides that, we have yet to be issued titles for the land we are staying. That makes us worried because it could be gone one day and we will be left with nothing,” he said, adding some areas were without electricity and the roads were in bad condition.
Azman said they did not want to run down other parties because all have contributed their share but the residents wanted more facilities to improve their standard of living.
“Basically, we believe Pandikar can bring about changes.
“It’s good that there are many young leaders contesting in the polls but how far can they lead in Pintasan, and Kota Belud in general, in terms of bringing development?
“To us, Pandikar is still the best candidate to do so because he has wide experience in politics and has plenty of influence,” he said.
Pandikar is locked in a six-way battle for the Pintasan seat against, among others, Perikatan Nasional’s Fairuz Renddan and Warisan’s Mohd Safian Saludin.