Sabah PKR chief Mustapha Sakmud said the party is hoping to elect another “Anwar Ibrahim representative” in this state seat.
Mustapha, who is also Sepanggar MP, said he would ensure that the party’s candidate for this seat will be rigorously screened so that they can champion the “reformasi” agenda advocated by the party and Anwar.
“You need to remember, when you become an (elected) representative, you are not representing yourself or your family.
“If you commit any wrongdoing, corruption, or steal the people’s money, we will kick you out,” Mustapha said at a ceramah in the constituency of Sandakan.
“Whoever becomes the candidate here, if you don’t adhere to the reformasi agenda, don’t expect to remain here for long.”
Mustapha, who is also the deputy higher education minister, hopes that whoever is elected the assemblyman here will champion the educational needs of the poor constituents.
He suggested that a Madani tuition centre be established in the constituency to provide free lessons to SPM candidates who are academically weak, utilising the allocations provided to state assemblymen.
“When these students excel in SPM and STPM, we must have an academic excellence award ceremony for them. God willing, I will get help from the higher education ministry to welcome them at our universities or TVET institutions,” he added.
Karamunting was represented by George Hiew Vun Zin of PGRS, who was previously with Warisan. PGRS was reported in August to have expressed its confidence of defending the state seat in the 17th state assembly elections on Nov 29.
In his ceramah speech, Mustapha also targeted certain quarters that stoke “anti-Malaya” sentiments against PKR and Anwar; he said the Madani government, under Anwar’s leadership, had allocated more funds for development expenditure and special grants for Sabah.
He cited Putrajaya’s move to double the amount of special grants to Sabah from RM300 million in 2023 to RM600 million for next year, as well as allocating RM6.9 billion in development allocations to the state in the 2026 budget.
“You said that this (PKR) is a Malaya party, but this man has given the largest funds for Sabah to date,” he said, in reference to his party’s president.
Mustapha also dismissed claims by Sabah Progressive Party president Yong Teck Lee and Warisan information chief Azis Jamman that the trade deal signed between the US and Malaysia does not deliver tangible benefits to Sabah.
The PKR leader pointed out that Sabah is the largest producer of oil palm, which is among the 1,711 products exempted from the US tariffs.
“They are just saying things but do not understand the content of the trade deal,” he added.
Names to be out soon
PKR is expected to announce its list of candidates for the state polls on Nov 9 or Nov 10, Bernama quoted Mustapha as saying.
He told reporters after the event today that Anwar will be making the announcement in Kota Kinabalu.