Anifah’s exit beginning of the end for Umno in Sabah?

Long-time Umno member Anifah Aman quit the party claiming he had failed to restore the rights of East Malaysians under MA63. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: MPs from Sabah Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Warisan are optimistic that Anifah Aman’s exit from Umno marks the beginning of the end for the party in Sabah.

DAP’s Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin said the resignation of Anifah, who is Kimanis MP, had set the stage for a new local political party to establish itself in the state.

“I believe he is the heavyweight to orchestrate the closure of Umno in Sabah and make way for a new Sabah-based party.

“Anifah has interacted with Gabungan Sabah leaders such as Jeffrey Kitingan and Yong Teck Lee in a famous MySabah WhatsApp group in a series of forums to highlight issues on the Malaysia Agreement 1963,” he told FMT.

Anifah, the former foreign minister, announced his resignation from Umno yesterday, saying this was the promise he had made to Sabahans before the general election.

Anifah, who is the younger brother of former chief minister Musa Aman, said he had vowed to leave Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) if the coalition failed to restore the rights of Sabah and Sarawak as laid out in MA63.

His departure came less than 24 hours after the resignation of Umno Supreme Council member Mustapa Mohamed, who had been in Umno for four decades.

Chan, who is also Sabah DAP secretary, said he had noticed during the last Parliament sitting that not all the Sabah Umno MPs were actively involved in the debates.

“Kinabatangan (Bung Moktar Radin) and Beluran (Ronald Kiandee) still act as one team while Kimanis and Libaran (Zakaria Edris) seem to stay away from any Umno stunts.

“I think some of the Sabah Umno leaders are looking for an alternative on how to make the party localised and stay relevant in Sabah politics to compete with Warisan.

“If they choose a local platform, they prefer that Sabah Umno become a local-based party while the national Umno can stay away from Sabah,” he said.

Batu Sapi MP Liew Vui Keong predicted that the exodus from Umno would continue, saying the departure of senior leaders like Anifah had further weakened the party.

“As far as Sabah is concerned, Umno and BN were destroyed after the May 9 polls following the departure of local-based component parties like Upko, PBS, PBRS and LDP. Only MIC and MCA remain in BN.

“Nobody expected this six months ago. It goes without saying that Umno is becoming irrelevant and has to take another look at its position, maybe even ceasing operations.”

Liew, who is Warisan permanent chairman, described Anifah’s reason for quitting Umno as an excuse.

“The fact that BN lost in GE14 meant that it lost power, including its ability to implement MA63.

“But Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad made it clear recently about restoring Sabah and Sarawak’s equal partner status,” he added.

PKR’s Ranau MP Jonathan Yassin was not surprised that even senior leaders like Anifah had no qualms about leaving the longest ruling party in the country.

“I think it’s because of Umno’s mistakes in the peninsula, how they administered the nation.

“As long as the old guards are there, like Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the party won’t attract the young,” he said. - FMT