PETALING JAYA, April 30 — In the rapidly developing constituency of Sepanggar where a hot contest between two fiery personalities is on the cards, an advantage has just been awarded to BN candidate Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

Incumbent Sepanggar MP Datuk Jumat Idris, suspended from Umno and unable to contest, has just thrown his support behind Abdul Rahman, after months of ominous silence, "soul-searching” and fending off offers to join the Opposition.

His publicly-declared support is a big boon to BN, who would have suffered from a potential crisis had grassroots support shifted due to misgivings about Abdul Rahman, who is neither from Sepanggar, or a member of the division.

Jumat told some 1,000 supporters and "fans” who had gathered at his house that he has reassured the prime minister of his loyalty to the party, and would help BN retain the seat, and in the process possibly thwart an internal revolt that would see a swing in votes in retaliation.

"The PM called me and said ‘I heard you are still with me’ — and I told him ‘yes I’m still your man and loyal to you’. He said ‘help me retain Sepanggar, and then after the election, come and see me anytime’,” he said.

Jumat said that despite Umno "not liking” him, he was indebted to the party for his political career so far, and owed a lot to caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"Now let us move forward and put the past conflict behind us. It doesn't matter where the candidate is from, but this is the candidate the party has chosen," he said, urging his supporters to support Abdul Rahman.

Coincidentally, Sabah Umno Deputy liaison chief Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak, who was the guest of honour at the gathering at Jumat’s residence in Kampung Likas, said that Najib and the party’s supreme council was considering lifting Jumat’s suspension and reinstating him into the party.

"He has been loyal to the party despite the suspension. It is not easy to find a leader who will stay despite being suspended.

"He didn’t leave like Shafie and start his own party, we can differentiate those who are loyal and those who have showed commitment to the party,” he said, adding that Jumat has been begging to be reinstated, and that the process would take time.

Jumat joined Umno in 1992 and rose up the ranks from the Youth wing to contest the Sepanggar seat in 2013, after the seat was given to Umno to contest when BN component Sabah Progressive Party pulled out of the coalition in September 2008.

In 2015, he was suspended from the party for three years for posting a remark on Facebook criticising chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman.

His suspension did not go down well, but supporters were hopeful that he would be reinstated in time to become a candidate this GE14. When it seemed that the Sepanggar seat would be contested by Abdul Rahman, himself a Tuaran native, the rumblings grew stronger.

The controversy saw seven committee members and some 150 ordinary members of the Sepanggar Umno division exiting to join Parti Warisan Sabah citing objection to the choice of candidate and loss of confidence. The leader of "Geng 7”, Azhar Matussin, was later announced as the Karambunai candidate for Warisan.

Jumat, rumoured to have engineered the move to gain leverage, publicly denied any connection to the move, or the seven former committee members.

Sepanggar, situated just outside Kota Kinabalu, consists of some 62,415 voters, more than 50 per cent are Muslim Bumiputera voters, while the rest are divided between local natives (KDM) and Chinese. There is also the naval base, which is estimated to have some 4,000 registered voters.

Of the two state constituencies — Karambunai has a big majority of Muslim Bumiputeras while Inanam has a mix of local natives (KDM), Chinese and Muslim Bumiputeras. Voters are varied; there are some who are affluent although most are from the working class whose biggest problems range from rising living costs to lack of proper infrastructure.

Umno’s Datuk Jainab Ahmad is defending her seat against Azhar, Asper Oyer from PAS and Ahsim Jamat from SAPP while Datuk Johnny Goh is the BN candidate for Inanam, facing PKR’s Kenny Chua, Jakariah Janit from Parti Kebangsaan Sabah, John Stephen Dionysius from SAPP, Terence Tsen from Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri, and independent Situl Mintow.

In 2013, Jumat won the parliamentary seat with 42 per cent of the votes, with a 9,442 majority, with the closest contender being DAP’s Jeffrey Kumin, who garnered 13,403 votes to Jumat’s 22,845.

This GE14, Umno has put up Kota Belud incumbent Abdul Rahman who will be facing Kumin again who is contesting under Sabah Progressive Party, as well as Parti Cinta Sabah’s Robert Sopining. But this time, the strongest competition for the seat will likely be fledgling Parti Warisan Sabah’s Datuk Azis Jamman.

The 44-year-old Warisan Youth chief is known for his charisma and fiery speeches, and observers expect a decent showdown for the Semporna native’s debut as a candidate.

Acknowledging that both are outsiders to Sepanggar, Azis said he was going in as the underdog, and confident that the people want change.

"I’ve been going to the area for a year now and familiarising myself with the people. They have a lot of problems with the current leadership and the chief minister himself visited the area for the first time recently.

"But most of all, I am not an apple polisher like Abdul Rahman Dahlan. We are able to speak and fight freely for the people there and give them the change they crave,” said Azis when contacted.