By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: Northern Sabah is expected to see siblings from the Bahanda family contesting in the 17th state election.
However, Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) deputy president Datuk Wetrom Bahanda made it clear that "family matters are family matters, while politics is politics."
"I am in KDM, my brother Datuk Verdon is leading his Black Wave movement as an independent candidate.
"The same goes for my sister (Datuk Redonah). She is the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Women's chief. It will be up to the GRS president to decide where she will contest.
"It is not my responsibility to determine her seat," he told reporters after the Santai Bersama Datuk Wetrom Bahanda programme at Kampung Balalait Dambai in Papar last night.
Sabah's 1.7 million-odd voters will head to the ballot box on Nov 29 for the state polls. Nomination day is on Nov 15, while early voting will take place on Nov 25.
He also said KDM would field three candidates in Matunggong, Tandek and Bandau — all under the Kota Marudu parliamentary constituency.
Verdon, who is also the Kudat member of parliament, is eyeing Tanjong Kapor, while Redonah could possibly be fielded in Bandau.
"Therefore, there is no issue of me compromising the party because of my family members," he said.
Wetrom, who is the incumbent assemblyman for the Bandau state seat, will contest in Matunggong, where he was born and raised.
In the 2020 state election, under the Perikatan Nasional banner, the former Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) member was fielded in Bandau as its then-partner, Parti Bersatu Sabah, had claimed the Matunggong seat.
During the general election in 2022, Wetrom quit Bersatu to join KDM.
As of last night, the Kota Marudu MP also said the party would contest in 37 out of 73 state seats in Sabah and aimed to win as many as possible.
For now, he assured that KDM would go solo and not be aligned with any parties, including Parti Warisan or Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.
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