STAR’s Karanaan division had unanimously nominated Anuar as its candidate for the seat, saying he understood the local community’s heartbeat and had a solid professional background.

If approved by the party, this could set up one of the fights to watch out for in the state polls as Masidi had been representing the constituency for five terms since its inception in 2004.

Masidi, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah secretary-general, is widely expected to seek a sixth term as Karanaan assemblyman.

In the 2020 state election, he defended the seat and won with a 4,814-vote majority. At the time, he was still in Sabah Bersatu.

Anuar, a lawyer by training, was formerly political secretary to deputy chief minister Jeffrey Kitingan, the president of STAR. This is set to be his first venture into an election.

He is the son of the late former federal minister Abdul Ghani Gilong of the United Sabah National Organisation, or Usno.