KOTA KINABALU: Rafizi Ramli has claimed that PKR will win big in Sabah in the 16th General Election (GE16) and will become the most dominant party in the state.

Rafizi, who is running against PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution for the party’s deputy presidency, said this would be difficult to achieve in the coming general polls.

“This is because the party needs at least five years to generate the ‘wave’ to achieve the feat,” he added.

“Five years is a long time in politics but I am confident Sabah PKR will win big and become the biggest party (in the state) in GE16,” he said in his campaign trail here on Sunday (May 8).

He said the party must first defend all its seats in Sabah while trying to contest as many other seats as they can.

“We must wade it out first for GE15. If we win, it will be a bonus but if not, believe me the tsunami will happen in GE16,” he said.

PKR won the Tawau, Putatan and Ranau parliamentary seats as well as the Api-Api and Inanam state seats in GE14.

The party contested seven seats in the 16th Sabah elections in September 2020 but only managed to defend the Api-Api and Inanam state seats.