KOTA KINABALU, Aug 14 ― Sabah Umno and Parti Bersatu Sabah will soon be moving to a new umbrella coalition with other local Opposition parties under the name Gabungan Bersatu Sabah.
Sabah Umno liaison chief Datuk Hajiji Noor said the reason for the move was that Barisan Nasional (BN) no longer “existed” in Sabah.
“The question of BN disbanding does not arise. BN is still an entity but in Sabah, we want to form an Opposition bloc called Gabungan Bersatu Sabah.
“Umno is still in BN, but in Sabah, there is no BN so that’s why we want to form Gabungan Bersatu Sabah,” he told reporters at the state assembly building here.
He said Umno will join parties like PBS, Parti Solidarity Tanah Airku (STAR), other local parties and independent candidates and work together.
“The intention of setting up Gabungan Bersatu Sabah was so we can cooperate in state assembly sittings. There may be a need one day for a formalised bloc. And there are also non-BN parties and independents in the new bloc,” said Sabah Umno secretary Datuk Masidi Manjun.
In June, Sarawak BN parties had quit the former ruling pact to set up Gabungan Parti Sarawak, comprising of Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
Hajiji said today that the Sabah parties have applied for the formation of the new bloc with the Registrar of Societies and it should be completed “very soon”.
STAR president Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan said that all the parties will soon be identified under the Gabungan Bersatu Sabah, but said that Umno might be revamping itself.
“Umno may also have to come under a different identity. Because they realise that Sabahans are now going for local parties. But they have to discuss with their headquarters to completely close and migrate or else there will be complications arising later. They have to resolve their problems,” he said.
Kitingan, said that once formed, the alliance will have a presidential council and elect a leader, either by rotation or through another structure.
Following the May 9 polls, all the local BN component parties left the coalition following their staggering loss, leaving only the national parties.
PBS had announced it would quit BN to form a new coalition to rebrand the BN in Sabah and that Umno would be part of it, but later on Sabah Umno said it would remain to BN.
