ASAJAYA: Several people who are said to be capable grassroots leaders are ready to be shortlisted as the new Barisan Nasional candidate for Kota Samarahan if the incumbent MP Dato Sri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib is not re-nominated.
Asajaya assemblyman Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, however, did not want to say if Sulaiman’s elder brother Dato Sri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib was among them.
He was nonetheless confident that whoever the candidate is, BN would still win in Kota Samarahan in the coming general election because the people’s support for BN in the constituency was still very strong.
“At one time, I heard rumour about him (Abu Bekir), but the rumour has since fizzled out. I’m not too sure whether he’s interested or not (in the seat).
“But if he were to contest, it should not be a problem. Kota Samarahan is a BN stronghold,” he told reporters after presenting the Kota Samarahan parliamentary-level Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) cash aid at Asajaya Sports Complex here yesterday.
According to Karim, who is also Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) supreme council member, the list of potential new candidates for Kota Samarahan had been narrowed down to a few names.
However, Abdul Karim did not want to reveal the numbers and their identities, except to say that the top leaders would make the announcement in due time.
Meanwhile, the non-presence of Sulaiman to officiate at many functions in the constituency, including yesterday’s BR1M presentation, further fuelled speculations that Sulaiman was not going to defend the seat.
When asked further, Abdul Karim said: “Well, the way I see it, it looks like he is not keen to be re-nominated. But then again, that one we leave it to the top leaders to decide.”
He also mentioned that Sulaiman had indicated to PBB top leaders his intention of not seeking re-election.
“At this point the most the party can do is to advise Sulaiman against arriving at the decision.”
To a question on Sulaiman’s whereabouts, he said: “I think he (Sulaiman) is somewhere but not in Kuching”.
Sulaiman, a corporate figure, won the Kota Samarahan seat in his election debut in 2008 — defeating Hussain Abang Apok of PKR with a majority of 11,411 votes.
Sulaiman was then appointed deputy minister of tourism shortly after that. In December 2010, he quit the ministry which was then taken over by Mambong MP Datuk Dr James Dawos.
Since then, it has been reported in the media that Sulaiman would not seek re-election. Abu Bekir, also a corporate figure, was among those rumoured to be his replacement.
Sulaiman and Abu Bekir are sons of Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
On a related matter, Karim who is also Assistant Minister of Youth Development and Assistant Minister of Housing said both he and Muara Tuang assemblyman Dato Sri Mohd Ali Mahmud were managing the federal allocations for Kota Samarahan.
“This is to ensure that the allocations reach the ground. The allocations include the RM1.5 million in minor rural project (MRP) fund and other unspecified ‘substantial’ amounts from federal ministries.”
Yesterday’s BR1M presentation saw 1,500 recipients receiving their RM500 one-off cash assistance from the government. There are a total of 7,600 eligible recipients in Asajaya.
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