KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — Tan Sri Annuar Musa played down today the damage that the rumoured departures of up to six federal lawmakers would wreak on Umno in Sabah.

Speaking to the press at the Parliament lobby, the Umno secretary-general said the chapter in Sabah was the most populous in the country and in no danger of being disbanded.

"I have gotten guarantees from the majority of Umno leaders in Sabah, especially among the youths from the Pemuda and Puteri (wings). They want Umno to continue and the issue of Umno in Sabah being dissolved was never raised,” he said.

"Those who want to leave the party can leave. They will be immediately replaced.”

The Ketereh MP asserted that each division in Sabah has around 20,000 members but only needed 50 to qualify for recognition.

He also described Umno’s situation in Sabah as "unique, complex and isolated”, following discussions with the state’s liaison chief Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor and Umno state secretary Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.

Annuar came to the conclusion that the MPs rumoured to be quitting were in fact seeking to be a bigger part of the party’s establishment in the belief that this would bring more access to funding, among other privileges.

"At Umno, we must be clear. If you want to talk about money, we don’t have any. Our accounts have all been frozen. If they (the MPs) face financial pressure, we can’t do much despite trying our best,” he said.

The former minister urged his partymen to understand that Umno is now an Opposition party and could no longer decide on government funding and projects.

Asserting that the defectors were motivated by money and power, he told them that Umno would not be able to satisfy such desires now.

"So we leave it up to our friends in Sabah to make their decision and we wish them well,” said Annuar.

However, he also warned them to limit their departures to themselves and not attempt to undermine Umno in the state.