00:00Naming Sabah UMNO chief Bung Mukhtar Radin as Barisan Nacional's poster boy for the upcoming
00:07state election may be a risky move, an analyst says. Bill Chabala of University Malaysia's
00:13Sabah pointed out that Bung is linked to the failed attempt to overthrow Chief Minister
00:17Haji J. Noor in 2023, so making him the N's poster boy may jeopardize the coalition's chances and
00:24ultimately accelerate UMNO's decline in the state.
00:27Bill Chabala also said several parties shared the view that Bung's leadership style is sometimes
00:32considered rude. Sharodin Awang Ahmad, also of UMS, said BN's campaign approach should be carefully
00:38planned so that Bung's ongoing corruption trial and his personality issues will not overshadow
00:43the coalition's ambitions in the state election. Earlier this week, Sabah UMNO proposed that Bung be
00:50made the poster boy for the state polls, with Information Chief Suhaimi Nasir saying that he
00:54is the most qualified person for the role. BN chairman Ahmad Zahir Hamidi, however,
00:59said it is not time yet to determine the poster boy candidate because the priority is to ensure
01:04victory for the BN candidates in the election. Several analysts are of the view that discussions
01:09with other parties on cooperation in facing the state election will come to a halt if the N names its
01:14booster boy now.
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