Ex-Umno Sabah leaders should join Warisan — LDP
KOTA KINABALU: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Datuk Chin Su Phin yesterday urged former Umno Sabah chief Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor, ex-Umno elected representatives and leaders to join Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) to give more strength to the State Government in pursuing the rights of Sabahans.
He said the decision of the nine former Umno assemblymen, five MPs, two senators and 21 division chiefs in leaving the party recently was a wise move.
Nonetheless, Chin hoped that these former Umno leaders would join Warisan to strengthen the ruling local party in order to fight for Sabah’s rights more effectively.
He said the people had rejected Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno in the 14th General Election (GE14) because of corrupt practices and power abuse.
Umno’s development since losing power was also a huge disappointment, he said.
“Former Prime Minister cum ex-Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the new Umno president Datuk Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi are now faced with multiple counts of power abuse and corruption charges.
“We believe that these Umno leaders are no longer qualified to lead the party.”
Chin said Umno MPs were also behaving irresponsibly as opposition members in the Parliament and even disrespected the Speaker’s decision.
“The people do not deserve these Umno MPs as their representatives.”
He said the former Umno elected representatives and leaders indeed had the right to choose the party of their choice, including peninsula-based parties.
However, he opined that it would be better for these exUmno leaders to unite under Warisan to enable the State Government to have a louder voice in pursuing the interests of Sabahans.
He said the Prime Minister cum Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had stated that his party would not spread its wings to Sabah, but the people of Sabah were welcomed to join PPBM.
Umno, as he said, had entered Sabah during Parti Bersatu Sabah’s (PBS) leadership as the State Government.
“For more than a decade, the Chief Minister of Sabah only played a minor role in state administration because every major decision had to go through the federal government.”
He said the Sarawak State Government, which enjoyed its own autonomy, had clearly declared the rights it wanted to pursue before GE14.
“The last general election spoke volumes about the people’s desire for the State to be led by local political parties.”
As such, Chin said joining PPBM would just be a temporary victory for the ex-Umno leaders.
“If the Warisan-led State Government is able to be transparent and corruption-free, the people will continue to support its leadership.”
Meanwhile, Chin reiterated that LDP would continue to be a constructive opposition party and assist the State Government in securing better interests for Sabahans.
He said the party would support policies that benefitted the people and speak up on government’s decisions that did not serve the interests of the rakyat.
On another note, Chin said Dr Mahathir must consider the background of former Umno leaders who wished to join PH even if the latter wished to strengthen the position of the coalition in the Parliament.
“Accepting leaders who were involved in power abuse or corruption into PPBM or PH will do more harm than good to the government.”
For instance, he said history had proven that former Melaka chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik was an unprincipled leader who kept jumping ship between the ruling party and opposition.
“Tun Dr Mahathir has promised to only accept clean leaders into the party.”