Umno preps Sabah election machinery for possible Sept polls

Summary

• Umno launches training programme to prepare election machinery in anticipation of upcoming Sabah polls.

• Refresher course is on four main election components - Pacaba (polling agent, counting agent and barung agent), information technology system, machinery for opinion survey, and logistics.

Umno is gearing up its election machinery for the Sabah state election, which party insiders believe could be held in September.

According to a source close to the party leadership, top officials have recently signalled their grassroots to boost readiness for the upcoming state polls.

This includes holding refresher courses for its election machinery, starting with a two-day training session in Sandakan that began yesterday.

"Party leaders had indicated that the Sabah legislative assembly might be dissolved soon, with the polls anticipated to be in late September," said the Umno source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Although the state assembly’s term only ends on Nov 11, there is speculation that Chief Minister Hajiji Noor could call for its dissolution in August.

Besides political factors, it was understood that the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) administration also needs to consider other issues when deciding the election date, including the Northeast Monsoon season from November to March, which could affect polling conditions with bad weather.

Training programme

Malaysiakini learned that the Umno recruitment and training arm, led by its vice-president Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, had been tasked to lead the training programmes for its Sabah machinery.

Wan Rosdy launched the first series of its “Get Voters Out” course in Sandakan yesterday, which involved about 200 Umno members and election workers from two zones.

"The course stresses practical training on four main election components - Pacaba (polling agent, counting agent and barung agent), information technology system, machinery for opinion survey, and logistics.

"Participants were given training on how to manage perception, a simulation of the polling day, and how to operate the voters’ data bank system," said a party official.

Similar training sessions are scheduled across the state in the coming weeks, with the next stop in Kota Kinabalu tomorrow.

Yesterday, the Umno supreme council decided to postpone its annual general assembly from August to November.

According to Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, the change was made to allow the party to focus on preparations for the 17th Sabah state election.

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