‘Tiny’ Usno could be the catalyst of big changes in Sabah

 

Usno led by former Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia could serve as a new home for Sabah Bersatu leaders. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: For several years now, the once-mighty United Sabah National Organisation has been trying to find its way back into Sabah’s political mainstream without much success.

Last Monday, that changed when the party officially became a member of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, the coalition in charge of Malaysia’s second-largest state.

On the face of it, Usno’s entry into GRS seems puzzling.

There is already a Muslim Bumiputera-dominated party in the form of Bersatu, lynchpin of the GRS coalition. Usno’s entry raises questions about what the coalition’s smallest member could possibly bring to the table.

“It’s a vehicle to unite Sabah’s Muslim Bumiputeras under one party. And it’s about time,” one Sabah Umno veteran told FMT.

The leader, who declined to be named, said Usno was already reaching out to Umno leaders to entice them to join them.

The party, led by former Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia, could serve as a new home for Sabah Bersatu leaders, the Umno veteran said, as Bersatu is as good as dead in Sabah, especially with Muhyiddin Yassin no longer prime minister.

He said many Sabah members of Bersatu and Umno were looking at Usno’s possible rise into becoming the Sabah equivalent of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, the dominant party in Sarawak, and thereby free Sabah of political control from the Peninsula.

“This would be a big change. This should be the goal. But making it work, getting everyone to come and join Usno is the real challenge, particularly accommodating Umno leaders.

“Many of us still have grassroots support, so how will we fit into the picture if we ‘pindah rumah’ (jump to Usno)? This is something Usno has to think about.”

Universiti Malaysia Sabah analyst Lee Kuok Tiung said he believed Usno was more of a “Plan B” for the Sabah Bersatu and Umno leaders. “The dynamic between Umno and Bersatu in Sabah is very different from that in Peninsular Malaysia. Here, they are still very much friends,” he told FMT.

But if they came under too much pressure to fight each other, it was likely they would all go to Usno, he said.

However, Lee said he believed state Bersatu and Umno leaders would prefer the status quo as it allows them to share power without having to be under “one single boss”.

“In terms of branding too, their flags are more recognisable than Usno’s. But I think if their hands are forced, they may move to Usno.”

Usno was founded in 1961 by Mustapha Harun as a party largely based on Suluk-Bajau support. It came to power in 1967 but was defeated in 1976 by a breakaway group who formed Berjaya. The two parties merged in 1990 to form the Sabah chapter of Umno.

Usno was deregistered by the registrar of societies in 1996 but was revived in 2011. - FMT