SANDAKAN: Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) regrets the action of its former member who claimed he has the support of the party’s leadership to contest as an independent candidate in the Sandakan by-election.
Amanah communications director Khalid Samad (pix), who is also Federal Territories Minister, said it is a lie if any former Amanah members claimed they are getting the backing of Amanah president Mohamad Sabu in the Sandakan by-election.
“Amanah is a component party of Pakatan Harapan (PH) which only supports the DAP candidate in the Sandakan by-election,” he said when met by reporters after attending a DAP ceramah in the Sandakan by-election here on Wednesday night.
On Tuesday, Sabah Amanah lodged a police report against Hamzah Abdullah, an independent candidate in the by-election who campaigned with the Amanah party logo.
The report was made by Sabah Amanah Youth chief Khairuddin Daud after seeing several individuals wearing T-shirts with the Amanah party logo when campaigning and distributing leaflets for the independent candidate at Kim Fung Market here.
Hamzah had resigned as Sabah Amanah chairman one day before the nomination day last Saturday.
Khalid described the DAP candidate in the by-election, Vivian Wong Shir Yee, as a young person with potential and edge to represent Sandakan in Parliament.
He said the opposition candidate from Parti Bersatu Sabah, Datuk Linda Tsen Thau Lin, did not shine when she was Batu Sapi MP.
“We could see the performance of the PBS candidate (Tsen) when she was an MP as she was not prominent and did not contribute much in her debates,” he said.
Asked on the use of local sentiments by PBS in the by-election, Khalid said the federal government, set up by a coalition of PH, is capable of serving Sabah better compared to Barisan Nasional previously.
He said in PH, Sabah has been receiving fair treatment and not mere rhetoric by bringing the Bill to amend Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution to make Sabah and Sarawak as partners with the Peninsula.
“Our honesty has been proven by bringing the bill and all MPs from PH supported but BN MPs did not vote and the amendment bill failed,” Khalid said. — Bernama
