KOTA KINABALU, Feb 6 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia will almost certainly open up a state chapter in Sabah, former state Umno chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor said today.
This is despite objections from the Parti Warisan Sabah and an understanding with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the matter.
Hajiji said that he has been in contact with leaders from the national party who said they will be making a move to expand to Sabah.
“I can tell you Bersatu will come to Sabah very soon. That I can assure you,” he said when met at the Chinese New Year open house hosted by Parti Bersatu Sabah here today.
He declined to say when the party will set up here, but said he and the other ex-Umno elected representatives will take a month before announcing their next move.
“We are still independent assemblymen and have no plans to join any party,” he said, although he said they will be aligning themselves with other leaders from PBS, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) under the Gabungan Bersatu Sabah local coalition.
Hajiji, however, dismissed rumours of any ex-Sabah Umno leaders rejoining the party after the mass exodus in December last year.
“I don't think so. Those who left won't go back to Umno but will find a new political platform,” he said.
There was talk of some of the nine State assemblymen and five MPs who left Sabah Umno being keen to re-join the party after plans for PPBM to come to Sabah seemed to go awry. Sabah Umno chief Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin said some of them had spoken to him about their situation.
Of the nine, all but Tempasuk assemblyman Datuk Musbah Jamli who joined Warisan, have remained independents.
Hajiji said that Musbah's move to join Warisan was to protect his personal interests.
Last December, nine Umno assemblymen, five MPs, two senators and 21 Umno division chiefs who quit the party, with wide speculation that they would eventually join PPBM.
However, PPBM chairman and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said the party would not open a Sabah chapter but that it was would be open for anyone to join.
Since then, it was reported that thousands of ex-Umno and other Sabahans have applied to join the national party, despite there not being a Sabah chapter.
