Bung dismisses claims of split in Sabah Umno

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin has dismissed there is a split in the party amid claims that some of its assemblymen met Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor last weekend.

Bung rejected the claims on social media that the party in the state was split into two groups and blamed it on certain people with selfish political agendas trying to create a negative perception and break the unity in Sabah Umno.

He said assemblymen had the right to meet the chief minister to convey the issues faced by the people in their respective areas.

Bung was commenting on a social media picture showing the party’s Usukan assemblyman Datuk Seri Mohd Salleh Tun Said and at least four other assemblymen meeting with Hajiji at his house last weekend.

Salleh and the other assemblymen have not said what their meeting with Hajiji was about.

Bung said certain parties were trying to spread on social media the perception that Sabah Umno was split following the meeting.

However, he agreed that there were varying views among the state party leaders but said that there was no split among the leadership in the state Umno.

“We have several think-tank groups who are drawing up a more effective strategy plan to win the hearts of the people, especially in the face of the upcoming state election.

“These groups are planning a more efficient and effective election strategy to win the coming election,” he said after officiating the Kota Kinabalu Umno division retreat in Putatan near here.

Some sources said that the Umno assemblymen, who were not seen as “friendly” to Hajiji’s Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government, were seeking the RM3mil allocation for their constituency as they were part of the unity government.

They had also gone to discuss the positions of ketua kampung in their respective areas to be maintained, party sources claimed.

Since Sabah Umno withdrew its support for Hajiji’s state government on Jan 5 this year, Bung and some of the party’s leaders had stayed out of the state government. Some Umno assemblymen left to join GRS parties while others remained with Umno but continued to support the Hajiji government.

Sabah Umno is seen to have about 10 assemblymen left on its side from 17, prior to the decision to withdraw their support from GRS.

Sabah Barisan sits in a tricky position with the party as part of the national unity government but divided on its support for GRS, which is also part of the federal unity government.

Some Sabah Umno assemblymen have written to the chief minister for the assemblymen funds stating that Barisan was part of the unity government.