Another by-election has been announced and this time it will be for the Sandakan parliamentary seat.
The seat has been vacant after the death of its incumbent, Wong Tien Fatt. The two-time Sandakan MP whom tragically passed away from a heart attack on March 27.
The polling day is set to take place on May 11 with a five-cornered fight.
From Pakatan Harapan’s side, the daughter of the late MP has been fielded to fight off Opposition’s Datuk Linda Tsen Thau Lin from Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and other candidates which will be contesting as Independent – Hamzah Abdullah, Chia Siew Yung and Sulaiman Samat.
As the by-election day approaches for the show-down between DAP and PBS, neither one of the candidates made it into the influencer’s list.
Taking the number one spot is Chief Minister of Sabah Shafie Apdal, who actively talks about the by-election, with 202 statements in the past month. It seems like Shafie speaks for DAP’s candidate, Vivian; as his statements are tailored in favour of Vivian.
Shafie also publicly declared that Warisan-Pakatan Harapan-UPKO pact will give their support to her. Meanwhile, looking back at the influencers’ list, the real candidate herself appears less active, coming out with only 28 statements in the past month.
Additionally, PBS candidate Datuk Linda Tsen is absent. The same goes for the other three candidates of the by-election.
The Sandakan parliamentary seat has traditionally been contested by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a former Barisan Nasional party. This time, PBS will be representing the Opposition in which UMNO and PAS have declared support for.
After winning the Cameron Highlands, Semenyih and the recent Rantau be-election, can the Opposition retain its winning streak or will the Warisan-PH-UPKO pact prevail?
Source: Malaysia Indicator
