The Sabah chief minister and BN chairman Musa Aman is not at all surprised by SAPP's announcement that it would be fielding its president in the Batu Sapi by-election.

musa aman pc in sabah 190608 01 "We in BN have long expected it and we're not shocked by this," he said, referring to this morning's announcement that former Sabah CM and SAPP leader Yong Teck Lee is the candidate for the polls fight. 

Musa also said that the BN candidate will be a local from PBS.

"We already have a candidate. And yes, we have informed the prime minister and we have all agreed on who the candidate will be," he said.

"We'll announce the candidate at Dewan Masyarakat Sandakan at 2.30pm tomorrow. He, or she, will be a true local and an ‘anak jati’ Sandakan," he said in a press conference at the sidelines of the Umno general assembly.

The Sabah Umno president also said that the Batu Sapi polls might see a multi-cornered fight.

"I heard that several independents are interested in contesting," he said. “I just hope that the electorate know which candidate can bring development to the area.

Only BN can bring development

"They should know who can have the power to address their grievances. Other candidates have no allocations, and they are in no position to promise anything."

Nomination day for the by-election is next Tuesday.

The by-election was called following the death of incumbent Edmund Chong Ket Wah in a road accident just prior to the current parliamentary sitting.

Chong won the seat in the 2008 general election by a 3,708-majority, defeating independent candidate Chung Ong Wing. Chong polled 9,479 votes as against Chung's 5,771.

Batu Sapi has 25,582 voters, of whom 24,047 are ordinary voters and 1,535 postal voters, with 15,099 or 59.02 percent of the voters being Muslim bumiputeras, 689 non-Muslim bumiputeras (2.69 percent), 9,737 Chinese (38.06 percent) and others, 57 (0.22 percent).