Fate of ex-Umno leaders in limbo
Bersatu’s move into Sabah remains adrift
KOTA KINABALU: The political fate of the former Sabah Umno’s 16 lawmakers is in the balance as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (Bersatu) move into Sabah remains adrift.
Talks between Bersatu and its Sabah partner Parti Warisan Sabah are believed to be ongoing, though Warisan is insisting that the national party keep to its pre-election deal to stay out of Sabah.
There is little headway made for Bersatu to spread its wings to Sabah, sources familiar with the informal discussions said.
The ex-Umno lawmakers – nine assemblymen, five parliamentarians and two senators – together with 21 Umno division chiefs, quit the party on Dec 11, handing a crippling blow to the party that lost grip on power both in the state and national level on May 9.
The group was planning to bring in Bersatu to the state, claiming that there were some 100,000 former Sabah Umno members ready to join the national party led by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Amid a shifting political climate in the state and also at the national level, sources said that senior leaders of the ex-Umno lawmakers are telling the group to remain calm and wait out the political storm before Bersatu spreads its wings.
However, the ex-Umno leaders are trying to keep the pack together amid moves by various parties, including Warisan and the opposition, to woo the now independent lawmakers into their respective folds.
Some, according to Sabah Umno chief Datuk Bung Mokthar Radin, were also thinking about going back to Umno with party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi going on leave from the party.
Bersatu deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had been quoted as saying they were talking to Warisan; but senior leaders of Warisan dismissed it, urging Bersatu to leave Sabah to Warisan.
Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, whose party led the toppling of the Sabah Barisan Nasional government headed by Tan Sri Musa Aman, has yet to comment publicly on the issue of Bersatu spreading its wings to Sabah.
Former foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, who left Umno in September, is floating the idea of setting up a Sabah-based party in an apparent bid to draw in the Umno defectors who voiced support for Dr Mahathir and Shafie.
Anifah, who has so far brushed aside talk of a new party, is also working with the yet-tobe-registered opposition coalition Gabungan Bersatu Sabah (GBS) that includes Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) and Parti Solidariti Tanah AirKu (Sabah STAR).