KIMANIS POLLS | Sabah Umno is open to considering fielding former foreign minister Anifah Aman in Kimanis again for the constituency’s upcoming by-election.

Sabah Umno chief Bung Mokhtar Radin said Sabah Umno has already prepared a shortlist of candidates to be fielded in the by-election.

“Sabah Umno has come up with a few names for a decision on who would be the Kimanis candidate.

“Sabah Umno is prepared to field a candidate since early on. If Anifah wants to contest on a BN ticket, that would be discussed in detail,” he told Malaysiakini today.

On Dec 2, the Federal Court had upheld an Election Court decision on Aug 16 to invalidate the election results for Kimanis in the 14th general election citing the presence of additional ballot papers that could have affected the election results.

Warisan candidate Karim Bujang had filed the election petition on June 18 last year to challenge Anifah’s victory.

During the 14th general election, Anifah had won by a slim majority of just 156 votes.

He garnered 11,942 votes in a three-cornered fight with Karim receiving 11,786 votes, while Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah’s Jaafar Ismail garnered 1,300 votes.

Anifah quit Umno on Sept 19 to become an independent lawmaker following BN’s defeat at the general election.

Speculation is rife within Umno ranks that Anifah could return to contest under a BN ticket.

Apart from Anifah, his son Ahmad Zachry Anifah is also speculated to become the BN candidate.

Umno is expected to face an uphill challenge if the by-election turns out to be a three-cornered fight between Anifah, Umno and Warisan.

This is because much of Umno’s support in Kimanis is by Anifah’s "followers" making it advantageous if Anifah is allowed back into the BN fold.

Meanwhile, Bung said Sabah Umno had yet to discuss which component party should defend BN’s hold on the Kimanis parliamentary seat.

“For now, Umno has yet to hold discussions with any party. However, Sabah Umno is always open to cooperation with any party. We are also aware that the ruling party has many advantages in terms of power, funding, and so on.

“Anything can happen in a by-election especially when the people have lost confidence in the government so it is not impossible for Sabah Umno to succeed,” he said.

The Election Commission is expected to meet on Monday to decide on key dates for the Kimanis by-election.