Umno Sabah to hold press conference today
KOTA KINABALU: Umno Sabah is expected to hold a press conference today (Wednesday) to address its future political direction, in light of the rumoured exodus of four Members of Parliament (MPs) from the party.
They are Kudat MP Datuk Abd Rahim Bakri, Beaufort MP Azizah Mohd Dun, Libaran MP Datuk Zakaria Mohd Edris and Beluran MP Datuk Ronald Kiandee.
Speculation is rife that the four may be joining Parti Warisan Sabah or Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM).
Yesterday, Umno Sabah chief Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor chaired a closed-door meeting at around 3.45 pm to discuss the matter.
Members of the media had arrived as early as 12 pm at Hilton Hotel, hoping to get comments from the Umno Sabah leaders.
Hajiji, when met by reporters outside the meeting room, had declined to give his comment on the matter.
"Jangan dulu la, besok baru bagus (let's not do it now, tomorrow would be better)," he said, before returning to the meeting room.
Reporters were not allowed in the meeting room and some of them waited up till 6 pm in hopes for comments from the top leaders, which ended up to no avail.
They did, however, interview Kudat division chief Datuk Guraman Lolong, who had described Umno as a 'sinking ship'.
"I will be honest, I will follow the new ship to PPBM. My reasoning is simple, I like being part of the government rather than the opposition.
"You cannot help the people as part of the Opposition," he said.
He alleged that nearly 30 per cent of the Umno Kudat members had abandoned the party for Parti Warisan Sabah.
Abd Rahim, Ronald and Zakaria were all present at the meeting. Among the Umno assemblymen who were present at the meeting were Datuk Haji Mohd Arifin Mohd Arif (Membakut), Datuk Isnin Haji Aliasnih (Klias), Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan (Apas), Matbali Musah (Lumadan). Also present were former Usuakan assemblyman Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Salleh Said Keruak, former Liawan assemblyman Datuk Sairin Karno, former Bugaya assemblyman Datuk Ramli Marhaban, former Pantai Manis assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rahim Ismail and former Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.
Several Umno Sabah Division Chiefs were also present Datuk Haji Awang Kadin Tang (Sandakan), Datuk Faizal Diego (Kota Kinabalu), Haji Abdul Hakim Gulam Hassan (Silam), Datuk Haji Guraman Lolong (Kudat), Yaacob Khan (Sepanggar), Datuk Japlin Akim (Kota Belud) and Datuk Haji Jusli Ajirul (Libaran).
Meanwhile, Wanita Umno Sabah chief Datuk Seri Panglima Hajah Jainab Haji Ahmad Ayid arrived at around 4.30 pm with 21 of the other women wing chiefs from the various divisions of Umno Sabah.