‘Usno Baru has own agenda’

Usno Baru chief Dulli Tiaseh slams Sabah Umno deputy chief Salleh Said Keruak for alleging that the new party had nothing to do the original struggle.

PUTATAN: Newly-registered Usno Baru or United Sabah National Organisation said Sabah Umno should not be unduly worried by Usno Baru’s inception in Sabah.

Usno Baru president, Dulli Tiaseh, when contacted by FMT today, said Usno Baru did not wish to compete with Sabah Umno.

“Usno Baru has its own agenda…It is sufficient if the people of Sabah know that Usno Baru has been successfully registered and the Usno spirit resurrected,” he said.

Tiaseh was commenting on Sabah Umno liaison deputy head, Salleh Said Keruak, who reportedly said the advent of Usno Baru poses no threat to Sabah Umno’s popularity and that it had nothing to do with the original Usno.

Dulli, 57, however, lambasted Salleh, saying that contradictory to what Salleh believed, the new Usno would continue the struggle of previous Usno’s leaders like the late Mustapha Harun.

“We wish not to compete with Salleh. It is enough if the people know Usno is here again for them,” Dulli said reminding Salleh that majority of the Usno Baru lineup were former original Usno members.

“As a proof that we were formerly original Usno members and wanted to continue its struggle, even the Registrar of Societies (ROS) compelled us that at least 60% of our pro-tem lineup were Usno’s members, and this we proved with our original Usno membership when we lodged our application five years ago.

“We have our “sijil asal ahli Usno lama” and in fact more than 80% of our pro-tem have them.

“So it is pure nonsense when Salleh argued that our struggle has nothing to do with the original Usno,” Dulli said adding that currently Usno Baru has only 36 members including 13 as supreme council members.

Salleh reportedly said: “We are not worried about or concerned over the registration of United Sabah National Organisation.

“Sabah Umno is solid and gained landslide support from the people, winning almost all allocated state seats (for Umno), except Klias, in the recent general election.”

Dulli said that top of his agenda now is putting in place the party’s administration and management before embarking on a membership drive.

“We are having lots of brainstorming right now,” he said disclosing his party would for the time being operate from an office in Putatan near the state capital.

Not backed by a former CM

When asked if rumours that a former chief minister was behind Usno Baru, Dulli denied that there was such support.

But he admitted that Usno Baru would be more than willing to welcome all members and leaders of Kelab Usno and the original Usno into the fold.

According to Dulli, initially there were four groups applying to revive Usno but the others had been rejected.

He also disclosed that Usno Baru’s logo and symbol have close semblance to the former Usno’s Mount Kinabalu feature.

He also said Usno Baru would not align itself with either BN or the opposition front Pakatan Rakyat (PR), at least in the near future.