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Umno deputy prods Zahid on party's future after being 'sidelined' in Sabah

Umno deputy prods Zahid on party's future after being 'sidelined' in Sabah
Umno deputy prods Zahid on party's future after being 'sidelined' in Sabah

Discontent within Umno towards its ally Bersatu continues to grow, with Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan prodding his boss Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to do something.

Mohamad (above) lamented that the outcome of the Sabah election, in which Umno was denied the chief minister post despite being the biggest party in Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), showed that Umno's alliances were not benefiting the party.

"From a party that controlled Sabah for 27 years, Umno now is just an isolated political player in GRS," he said in a Facebook posting today.

GRS, which consists of Perikatan Nasional (PN), BN, and PBS, had won 38 seats in Saturday's state election, of which 14 were contributed by Umno.

Bersatu won 11 seats but combined with Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), they have 17 seats as PN.

Sabah BN chief Bung Moktar Radin was then poised to become the chief minister but ultimately ceded the position to Sabah Bersatu chief Hajiji Mohd Noor.

Bung was appointed a deputy chief minister instead. He was initially given the housing and local government portfolio but was later put in charge of works after some discontent from Umno.


Read more: Crisis averted as new Sabah CM gives Bung last-minute portfolio swap


Mohamad said besides almost being betrayed on the Sabah cabinet portfolios, Umno also had to give up some of its strongholds to "certain parties" during the election.

This was likely in reference to Bersatu, which defended many seats it originally won in 2018 as Umno-BN candidates before defecting.

Mohamad added that if Sabah is to be an example, then Umno's influence and continuity will continue to be affected in the short-term, which will weaken the party in the long-term.

"As such, the time has come for the Umno president (Zahid) to give guidance and a clear direction to the party and its members, on how we are to continue our cooperation with political rivals," he said.

The Umno deputy president stressed that a firm political consensus was needed to cool the dissatisfaction and anger of party members on how Umno was treated in Sabah.

"Going forward, Umno must stop being nostalgic that the political cooperation through the 'Sheraton Move' is to save the country. That episode has ended," he added.

The next episode, he said, is on how Umno can lead the country, and create a better future for Malaysia through BN, and not any other political platform.

"We will be judged by what we can offer to Malaysia. Not how big our sacrifice is for certain parties or the continuity of PN," he added.

Mohamad said if Umno will only work with PAS and BN in the next general election, this must be decided immediately so they can prepare themselves.

Previously Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki had also voiced discontent over the party making concessions to Bersatu in Sabah.

He said that Umno and BN made similar concessions to Bersatu in the formation of the federal government and Perak government even though they have more seats.

Zahid has reiterated several times that Umno is not formally a member of PN.

In the immediate aftermath of the Sabah election, the Umno president had insisted the chief minister be appointed from Umno.

However, he claimed that Bung was pressured by the Sabah Umno lawmakers into backing Hajiji.