If political pundits are on the mark, incumbent MP Darell Leiking of Parti Warisan Sabah will square off against Barisan Nasional (BN) newcomer Ceasar Mandela Malakun — and both happen to be cousins.
In his own inaugural electoral outing five years ago, Leiking caused one of the biggest upsets of the 2013 general election by wresting the Penampang seat from the then Upko president Bernard Dompok.
BN has since been “softening the ground” in Penampang to convince voters there that the ruling coalition was the obvious choice as the opposition offered no benefit to the constituency of about 460 sq km, nearly double the size of Penang island.
Nearly 60% of Penampang’s more than 52,000 voters are non-Muslim Bumiputera, 30% Chinese and just over 5% are Muslim Bumiputera.
Moyog and Kepayan are the two state constituencies located within the Penampang seat that has long been a stronghold of BN components Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and its breakaway group Upko.
Upko has been scouring its ranks to choose its best to take on Leiking, the Warisan deputy president, in GE14.
Upko officials acknowledge that four names have been cropping up. Among them is Ceasar, who sits in the executive committee of Upko’s Komulakan, the party’s junior wing.
Another name being mentioned is Carl Mosoom, the Upko Youth executive secretary, and William Sampil, the Moyog community development leader and former Penampang district officer.
One other name being bandied around as a possible BN candidate is Steven Jimbangan, the Upko Penampang ecocomy and welfare bureau chairman.
An Upko official said all those mentioned were familiar figures among Penampang folk.
“As our president Wilfred Tangau has advised, those keen to contest should continue serving the people and the decision will be based on who can best represent the BN in Penampang,” he said.
Asked about the likelihood of Ceasar being chosen for the Penampang seat, Upko information chief Albert Bingkasan said, “All this is too premature for now.”
“Of course we have some people in mind and an announcement will be made at the right time,” he added.
Leiking, a lawyer and son of former Inanam state assemblyman Marcel Leiking, defeated Dompok, the then plantation industries and commodities minister, with a 10,216-vote majority.
Penampang voters, however, saw Leiking along with Moyog assemblyman Terence Siambun switch from PKR to Warisan led by former Umno vice president Mohd Shafie Apdal.
Ceasar is a son of veteran politician-turned-businessman Clarence Bongkos Malakun who is currently chairman of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), the state government’s think tank.