Bersatu can close shop in Sabah, says Puad

 

Puad Zarkashi said Bersatu does not have any grassroots in the state as they were all originally from Sabah Umno.

PETALING JAYA: Bersatu lacks the grassroots in Sabah and might as well forget about having a presence in the state anymore, says Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi.

The former minister was responding to the mass exodus of Sabah Bersatu’s leaders and members as announced by Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor yesterday.

In a Facebook post, Puad noted that after Umno lost federal power in the 14th general election (GE14), 21 Sabah Umno division chiefs jumped to Bersatu – with only three division heads choosing to remain with the party.

“Did Sabah Umno die? Sabah Umno rose again and won the Kimanis by-election and later, the Sabah state election,” he said.

“That is because Sabah Umno has strong grassroots in the state. Now it is Bersatu’s turn. All their (Sabah Bersatu) members have left and will form a new party.

“Bersatu has no grassroots. Their grassroots were originally Umno’s grassroots who jumped (to Bersatu). Without power in the state government, Bersatu might as well close shop in Sabah.”

Shahrir Samad

Meanwhile, another Umno veteran, Shahrir Samad, noted how Sabah Umno managed to stay relevant in the state’s political scene despite the mass defections to Bersatu after GE14.

“Even though Sabah Umno leaders left the party, Umno was not buried in Sabah,” the former Johor Bahru MP said.

“Its journey after that was filled with obstacles and challenges, but it still managed to stay on in the state.”

The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-led (GRS) state government controls 38 of the 73 seats in the Sabah state assembly, of which 15 were won by GRS, 14 by Barisan Nasional (BN) and seven by PBS.

Yesterday, Hajiji, who is GRS chairman, said that he and other Sabah Bersatu leaders would leave the party as the current status quo was “no longer tenable”. He added that they will form a new local party.

Following the move, Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee yesterday said the party will rebuild the state chapter after the exodus of its leaders there.

Bersatu is a member of Perikatan Nasional (PN) and part of the opposition at the federal level.

However, its Sabah chapter is a component of GRS, which has pledged its support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

In the recent general election (GE15), four Sabah Bersatu members won their parliamentary seats on a GRS ticket.

Kiandee, however, won the Beluran parliamentary seat on a PN ticket despite an agreement within GRS that the seat will be allocated to BN. - FMT