Bung’s silence is to keep Sabah status quo, say analysts

 

Bung Moktar Radin and Hajiji Noor (second and third from left) and GRS party leaders after the Sabah election last year.

KOTA KINABALU: An analyst believes Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin is trying not to disrupt the status quo in the state by remaining silent on the party leadership’s decision to retract support for the Perikatan Nasional-led government.

Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said by not speaking publicly, Bung was able to fulfill Umno’s desire to remove Muhyiddin Yassin as the prime minister while keeping the party in the state government intact through Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).

FMT has not been able to reach Bung, who is also a deputy chief minister, to comment on the political situation following Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s announcement on Tuesday that the party was withdrawing support for PN.

Bung had openly backed GRS previously, saying that Sabah Umno would keep GRS intact amid the worsening rift between the party and Bersatu in the peninsula.

Oh Ei Sun.

Oh told FMT that Bung’s silence so far was to play it safe to maintain the status quo in Sabah.

GRS, which has 48 seats in the 79-seat state assembly, consists of PN (made up of Bersatu, PAS, STAR and SAPP), Barisan Nasional (Umno, PBRS, MCA and MIC) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

Oh said what Umno wanted was actually to keep the ruling federal coalition but with the party being the main driving force and calling the shots instead of Bersatu.

“So, if Muhyiddin and, by extension, Bersatu is willing to play ‘little brother’ or second fiddle within this coalition, then Umno will be fine. That means somebody from Umno will become prime minister and decide everything, not Bersatu.

“Hence, I think Bung is trying to have the best of both worlds (by not speaking publicly), namely to withdraw support for Muhyiddin but still keep the present ruling coalitions both at the federal and state levels.

“At the state level, Bung is even willing to concede the chief minister’s seat to (Sabah Bersatu chief) Hajiji Noor.

“He’s not gunning for that and is willing to keep the status quo in GRS … I think Bung has been very clear on this since last year,” he said.

Romzi Ationg.

Bung indicated that Sabah Umno had the autonomy to chart its own future last month when he said the party believed GRS should be maintained in line with the mandate given by the people in last year’s state election.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s Romzi Ationg and Sabah UiTM’s Tony Paridi Bagang agreed with Oh, saying Bung was trying to prevent the state going through a period of political instability.

“Sabah has not been too politically stable as well since the new state government was formed, so Bung wants to avoid triggering a fresh issue,” Romzi said.

“Despite that, the developments in the peninsula must be seen as a test of whether the GRS leaders really walk their talk.

Tony Paridi Bagang.

“For example, Bung had said that whatever happens at the federal level, Umno will stay with GRS. Let’s see what happens next.”

Bagang said GRS should not be surprised over Umno’s decision to pull the plug on its support for PN, as the writing was always on the wall.

“GRS should not panic as this is something expected. They should not lose focus and feel disturbed as this could be the opportunity to prove that GRS is intact and solid and that the rakyat is always its utmost priority,” he said. - FMT