SUNDAY-9TH MARCH 2008-MUSA LEADS STATE BN TO REPEAT LANDSLIDE VICTORY

MUSA LEADS STATE BN TO REPEAT LANDSLIDE VICTORY

KOTA KINABALU:
Sabah Barisan Nasional chairman and State Umno chief Datuk Seri Musa Aman led the State Barisan Nasional to a repeat of a virtual clean sweep of all the parliamentary and state seats in the 12th General Election yesterday. Sabah BN took 24 of the 25 parliamentary seats, losing only Kota Kmabalu to the DAP. For the 60 state seats, the State BN only lost Sri Tanjung to DAP. Musa who retained the Sungai Sibuga state seat with an increased majority, hoped the lost seats would be well taken care of by the winners. “I hope they will be a responsible opposition,” he said after announcing the State coalition’s two-thirds majority win yesterday. DAP candidate Dr Hiew King Cheu won the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat after 15 years of struggle with 9,464 votes, beating BN candidate Chin Teck Ming who collected 8,420 votes. The BN candidate for Sri Tanjong, Samson Chin, also lost the seat to DAP’s Jimmy Wong. “Our victory shows that the people of Sabah are confident with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership and believe that only BN can bring continuous development to the nation,” he said at his official residence in Sri Gaya. Musa said he was satisfied with the State BN’s performance, attributing it to the hard work of all the supporters and the efficiency of their election machinery. On the victory of BN in Kuala Penyu, Musa replied: “We believe that the people in the constituency have realised that only the ruling coalition can offer them continuous development. Our victory in Kuala Penyu will not only benefit the district but also the State.”