KOTA KINABALU, Nov 16 — Extolling the benefits of having a prime minister from Sabah, Parti Warisan information chief Datuk Azis Jamman alluded to himself as a Bornean “KJ” while on the campaign trail here last night.
The Sepaggar hopeful was referring to Khairy Jamaluddin, the caretaker federal health minister from Umno.
Azis said that it was presumptuous of Khairy to declare himself as a future prime minister, and to use it as campaign material to claim the Sungai Buloh federal seat in Selangor.
“If Sungai Buloh has KJ, Sepanggar has DAJ,” he said to laughter and cheers from the audience.
Azis has been campaigning under the initials DAJ, which stands for Datuk Azis Jamman.
Azis said that if Khairy thinks he is qualified to be prime minister, then any leader from Sabah qualifies as well.
“Does he think only he can claim that? As if no one in Sabah can do it too? Don’t look down on us,” he said.
Azis, who is the Sepanggar incumbent, said that a Sabahan should be able to have a chance to be prime minister as well, but this can only happen if the state was united in their votes for a local Sabahan party.
He said that if Negri Sembilan, which has only nine parliamentary seats, can theoretically elect a prime minister, then Sabah, with its 25 seats should be able to do so as well.
Khairy, who is the incumbent MP for Rembau in Negri Sembilan, is making his first electoral foray in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) stronghold of Selangor this election.
Touting himself as a potential prime minister within the next 10 years, he has asked Sungai Buloh voters to support him to make it a reality.
Azis, a former federal deputy home minister when the PH-plus-Warisan alliance controlled Putrajaya, was campaigning in his constituency when he brought up the possibility of having a Sabahan prime minister.
He said that Warisan wanted to fight for a Sabahan or Sarawakian prime minister but they needed to work as a Borneon bloc with Sarawak to achieve that.
To work with Sarawak though, he said Sabahans will have to think like them and give the mandate to a local party.
