Sabah Umno to strengthen party before working with others

By Olivia Miwil - March 9, 2019 @ 7:18pm

The party’s state deputy liaison committee chairman Datuk Yakub Khan (2nd from left) said the alliance between Umno and Pas in the peninsula was an encouraging move. Pic by NSTP/KHAIRULL AZRY BIDIN

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno will focus on strengthening its position before deciding on political cooperation with other parties.

The party’s state deputy liaison committee chairman Datuk Yakub Khan said the alliance between Umno and Pas in the peninsula was an encouraging move.

“However, for Sabah Umno, it had sought for autonomy from the party’s supreme council to choose the party it would like to work with.

“We have our autonomy because there are many races in Sabah and we have to follow the suitability of political landscape in the state (to progress),” he said after launching Putatan Umno division convention near here.

Yakub said despite the mass exodus of party members last December, Umno continued to remain relevant in Sabah.

He said the departure of party veterans also meant that young and more capable leaders had the opportunity to come to the party ranks and serve people from all walks of life.

As for Umno membership in Sabah, Yakub said that the state continued to have the largest number of members in the party.

“The cleansing process of members is still ongoing. We need to find out whether members have joined other parties.

“But I confident that we will not lose more than 20 per cent (of existing members),” he said.

He also does not rule out the possibility that ex-Umno members returning to the party’s fold.

Earlier, during the launching, Yakub said the grassroot members still had faith in Umno’s struggle and advised them to step up their efforts to win the 15th General Election.