KOTA KINABALU, May 10 — Sabah Umno is in a firm position, with a 546,879-strong membership since the party was established in the state on Feb 21, 1991.

Expressing thanks for being able to witness Umno’s significant impact in Sabah, Chief Minister Musa Aman, who was directly involved in the state Umno formation, 25 years ago, said:

“Umno’s strength is due to the support of the people and the unity of its members based on a solid spirit of struggle.

“No one can deny that after 25 years, Sabah Umno is now in a strong and firm position. It must be remembered that we are strong because of the support of the people.”

“We are strong because we are united. We are firm because our spirit of struggle is solid,” Musa, who is also Sabah Umno Liaison Committee chairman told Bernama today.

He said Sabah Umno, despite being regarded as the youngest was the biggest state component in the party.

Reflecting on the history of Umno’s entry to Sabah and why Sabahans accepted its entry although efforts to take the party into the ‘Land Below the Wind’ had started since the setting up of Malaysia in 1963, Musa said Umno was seen as a large ship and capable of becoming a receptacle to unite the people of Sabah.

He said political party movements in the state were communal-based and, despite the passing of decades after the formation of Malaysia, in which Sabah played a significant role, the political situation remained unstable with constant changes in the state government.

Musa said a large number of Sabahans at that time, such as Muslim bumiputra, non-Muslim bumiputra and the Chinese community were not only disunited to the point of creating political unstability, but the situation also stunted development in Sabah, so much so that the state was left behind compared to other states, including neighbouring Sarawak.

In such a situation, he noted, the people of Sabah eventually realised that they not only needed a new political model but also a new vehicle which could unite, and Umno was seen as the new hope based on its track record in peninsula Malaysia.

“They hoped Umno would become the new vehicle to unite the people of Sabah as how it united the majority of Malays and accepted by other communities via power-sharing in Barisan Nasional. They also hoped that political stability would exist in Sabah via the unity of the people, and pave the way for the state’s prolific development in all aspects.

“In conclusion, these were the factors which led to eventually picking Umno as a platform of our struggle. Umno did not come by itself. Umno did not come to colonise. Umno did not come to steal the rights of the people of Sabah.  Umno is present at our own bequest. Umno was born upon our choice,” stressed Musa.

Musa also did not forget the sacrifices of the leaders of United Sabah National Organisation (USNO), especially Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun and other state party leaders and former Umno deputy president, the late Tun Ghafar Baba on their determined struggle in making Umno’s entry into Sabah successful. 

On the future of Umno to remain strong and relevant, the chief minister said the party could not solely depend on a large number of members as equally important were the values and qualities of Umno members. — Bernama