Sabah Umno leaders disappointed with Zahid, says state youth wing

KOTA KINABALU: Many of the Sabah Umno senior leaders who left the party were unhappy with Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and claimed that the party president did not have a clear direction, particularly for the state chapter, said its youth wing.

Its chief Abdul Aziz Julkarnain said the exodus was a manifestation of their disappointment, adding that talks on leaving the party had been going on for some time.

“The main element to this big decision is (the senior leaders’) disappointment with Zahid.

“This subsequently contributed to their loss of trust towards the central leadership and they took a drastic decision to leave the party,” he said here today.

“We admit, there had been discussions in Sabah that led to the exodus in an effort to influence the state Umno leadership to support the Pakatan Harapan leadership.

Aziz said the youth wing had seen this coming and had made preparations to ensure the party’s fight for the people of Sabah would continue.

While he was saddened by the exit of the senior leaders, Aziz said the party’s youth wing remained loyal to Umno’s struggle.

“We are ready to fill any gap left by those who quit the struggle and responsibility given to them,” he said while urging other Sabah Umno Youth members to not speculate further on the exodus.

“Developments after GE14 showed that the people wanted radical changes to the Umno leadership at all levels including Sabah so it will have a new look, a clean image and it will be scandal-free,” he said.

Former Sabah Umno chief Hajiji Mohd Noor, who is Sulaman assemblyman, announced earlier today the mass exodus of the party’s senior leaders including himself.

A total of nine assemblymen, four MPs, two senators and 21 division heads left the party. - FMT