PENAMPANG : – The Moyog State Legislative Assembly seat is expected to witness a clash between several major party leaders in the 17th Sabah General Election (GE 17).
Apart from Warisan Deputy President Datuk Darell Leiking who is expected to defend the seat, also mentioned as a possible contender is United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) Deputy President Datuk Donald Mojuntin.
UPKO President and Penampang Member of Parliament Datuk Ewon Benedick the Penampang Member of Parliament was also mentioned as a candidate for the seat, but sources close to the party hinted that Ewon may want to defend the Kadamaian state seat he has held since 2018.
Also mentioned as a potential leader to bring about change in Moyog is the Moyog Division Head of the Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) Party, Datuk Ceasar Mandela Malakun who is expected to be nominated to represent Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
Not to be outdone is the Party STAR and the Democratic Community Wellbeing Party (PKDM), as well as several other small parties and independent candidates are also expected to field candidates in Moyog for the Nov 29 polls.
So far, there is no recent development on whether Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) are eyeing the Moyog state seat, but anyone can make a last-minute decision before nomination day on November 15.
What is certain is that Darell, who has held the seat since September 2020, is no longer expected to face an easy path to win the seat back. He won the seat obtaining a comfortable majority of almost 6,000 votes in the 16th Sabah GE.
The advantage of votes won by Darell at that time may be due to the confidence of Moyog voters that Warisan is able to maintain its position as the ruling party.
With the change of government, the support pattern of Momogun voters, Warisan is seen as having difficulty defending Moyog even though it is contested by Darell, due to his position as an opposition party.
However, the two-week long campaign period before polling day on November 29 will determine the ability of any party, whether Warisan, UPKO, GRS or other parties, even independent candidates.
With at least a five-cornered clash expected to take place in the seat with a majority of Kadazandusun voters, it will certainly make Moyog one of the hot seats in the election this time.
Meanwhile, Donald can be considered an old hand because he once held the Moyog state seat for a term after winning the seat in the 2008 General Election (GE).
At that time, UPKO was still with the Barisan Nasional (BN) which was considered difficult to defeat, especially since Donald was also overshadowed by the aura of leadership of his father, the late Datuk Peter Mojuntin who was revered by the people of Penampang, especially in Moyog.
Meanwhile, Mandela, 35, despite having contested and lost to Darell in the Penampang parliamentary seat in the 2018 GE, is a young leader who is seen as having the potential to shape a new face for Penampang and Moyog, especially under GRS.
He is a new generation who is capable of bringing new ideas to implement more development and solve problems faced by the people of the area, replacing the previous incumbent and former Moyog assemblyman, including his father, Datuk Clarence Bongkos Malakun.
As a young man, Mandela certainly has an approach that suits the soul of the young but still understands the soul of the old and does not marginalize them in providing services to the people of Moyog.
As the Head of the Moyog People’s Ideas Division and a representative of the ruling party, his service qualities are often seen especially when the people of Penampang are hit by disasters, including during the floods and landslides last September.
Not only that, Mandela has long worked hard for the Moyog, especially regarding the welfare of the people to ensure that none of its residents are marginalised during the time it has been represented by opposition assemblymen.
Whether it’s Mandela, Donald, Darell or any other leader who will contest after nomination day on November 15, they will certainly be carefully evaluated by the 31,084 voters who will determine their representatives in the DUN after November 29.
