Dr Edwin Confident of Recapturing Kapayan from DAP

Borneo Herald 

6.23AM MYT, 23-11-2025

PENAMPANG : Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) candidate for Kapayan, Dr Edwin Bosi, is going for a kill.

Dr Edwin who was Kapayan assemblyman in 2013 till 2018, wants the outgoing assemblywoman, Datuk Jannie Lasimbang to explain why exactly she withdrew her famous "40% tax summon" after she joined the madani government.

"Jannie has to explain why she withdrew their originating summon (together with 11 others) in September 2023 soon after PH became part of the Federal Government. 

"Is it because she prioritised her personal position over Sabahans right?" he asked adding that the summon was filed in June 2022 before the current federal government was in power.

Jannie Lasimbang given a third-term chance to stand for DAP over a younger DAP leader Henry Shim. She faces a daunting task to defend Kapayan in a 13-corner tussle with strong pro-local party sentiment rising ahead of polling on November 29.

According to Dr Edwin, Jannie, a two-term DAP  assemblywoman, must explain the matter honestly if she still wishes for support from majority of the about 50,000 Kapayan voters, something many observers see as fast evaporating.

He said the constitutional Sabah's right to 40% of all taxes collected by the Federal Government in Sabah is not a small matter to Sabahans as it probably worths RM600 billion, and it could benefit Sabah tremendously. 

"If we have such fund, flooding in Penampang can be managed well, we could provide transportation or railway around Sabah, good highways and roads.

"Also there could be efficiency in water and electricity supply, we could build monorail or LRT, and many more," he said adding he was confident of recapturing Kapayan from the DAP's assemblywomen.

Dr Edwin said his confidence that he could unseat Jannie and defeat 11 other candidates in Kapayan is based on the diminishing popularity of Jannie, the overall rejection of Sabahans to Malaya party,  and the positive responses of the voters he met.

He won Kapayan on DAP ticket in 2013, but left DAP on the fourth year of his term when he disagreed with DAP, to become Parti Kerjasama Anak Negeri assemblyman.

Dr Edwin said if he is re-elected, he would review the current commercial construction at plaza 88 (where also managed to stop the construction of PPRT at the same site).

Jannie, he said, did not help much the residents, whose houses were affected by the massive piling work.

"I am also pursuing my proposal to turn the old burned building next to HSBC in Kota Kinabalu into a Chinese museum," he added.

Kapayan is an urbane mix seat within the Penampang parliamentary seat. Its 50,000 voters, the largest among the 73 state seats in Sabah, is roughly made up of 40% Chinese, 40% Kadazandusuns and 20% of moslem natives.#Borneo Herald™