KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno is demanding fresh polls in the state, saying the Warisan-led government should prove it has the people’s support following the boisterous welcome given to former chief minister Musa Aman when he returned after spending three months overseas.
Sabah Umno Youth information chief Mazlan Joe Manan said the state government should not wait for the outcome of a legal challenge by Musa on the validity of Shafie Apdal’s appointment as chief minister.
“If Warisan wins the elections, only then will its legitimacy as the state government not be questioned any more,” Mazlan told FMT.
The court is expected to announce its decision on Musa’s challenge on Oct 26.
Mazlan said the thousands who turned up at the Kota Kinabalu airport to welcome Musa home were sending a clear message to the government that the rule of law must prevail.
“Musa’s return to his home state was something eagerly anticipated by Sabahans.
“Umno Youth and the people in general not only see it as the return of a big-time leader but also the homecoming of a chief minister, who was legitimately appointed under the state constitution,” he added.
He said Musa’s return will further unite the opposition bloc in the state assembly.
Musa and Shafie are locked in a battle for the Sabah leadership. Musa filed a lawsuit to challenge Shafie’s appointment as CM on May 12, barely 48 hours after Musa was sworn in by Sabah governor Juhar Mahiruddin.
Warisan and its Pakatan Harapan allies were tied with Barisan Nasional at 29 state seats each in the May 9 polls, while Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) won the remaining two seats in the 60-seat state election.
STAR then pledged its support for BN, allowing Musa to be sworn in as chief minister on May 10, but subsequent defections by BN assemblymen, including from Umno and Upko, gave Shafie the majority needed to form the government.
Mazlan said Sabahans were not happy by several decisions by the Warisan government, such as the issuance of working passes to illegal immigrants, the appointment of a party branch leader as the new state Water Department director, and the appointment of Sarawak-born Peter Hii as the Sandakan Municipal Council president.
“The rallying call ‘Sabah for Sabahans’, that was repeatedly used during GE14, was actually just a call to win votes,” Mazlan added. -FMT
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