LDP invited to join opposition SAPP

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has today invited Liberal Democratic Sabah (LDP) deputy president Chin Su Phin and those who have lost confidence in the Barisan Nasional leadership to join the opposition in the fight for change in Sabah.

Supreme council member David Chong Ket Sui said he sympathised with Chin and others who he said seem to be getting nowhere under the current Sabah BN leadership.

He said Chin should consider joining SAPP in its quest for state autonomy and more rights for Malaysians in the state.

"Since I am heading SAPP Api-Api constituency liaison committee (CLC) and Chin is also in Api-Api, I invite him to join us and work together to topple the BN..." he told FMT in Kota Kinabalu.

Chong said SAPP planned to contest in all the seats in the next general election, adding that "we hope anyone of the BN component parties will work withus to form the new government and ensure the return of our state autonomy".

"Today, we see that all BN parties can no longer work together and are disunited, so why don't they join SAPP to fight for state development and interest of the people," he said here today.

"I am sincere in making this call. The election is going to be held soon and more than half of the people feel that they have to change the governmentbecause they say the BN government cannot help them get development," he said.

Chong said SAPP under the leadership of former chief minister Yong Teck Lee would be the best choice because it is a non-racial party, which cares for all Malaysians irrespective of race, religion and background.

"I sympathise with Chin and other component leaders who cannot get what they want for the people as they are always being shut out by the BN leadership.

"Every day we can see them arguing and being scolded... is this helping the people?" he asked.

"If it was me, I would have left (the BN) in 24 hours. Those who still want to remain in BN are only fighting for their selves.

"In BN, some party presidents want to meet the prime minister and chief minister only because they want to protect their positions in the government," he said.

SAPP has two state and two parliamentary seats and was a BN component party until two years ago when it ditched the ruling coalition government to become the opposition.

SAPP has made it clear that while it would not be joining the Peninsula-based opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat, there is room for discussion because the party main aims is to take over the state government and reclaim the autonomous power it once had in the 1970s.

Read more...

Musa locks horns with Shafie Apdal

This story and more in http://freemalaysiatoday.com/

KOTA KINABALU: A recent heated exchange between two top Sabah leaders is being viewed as a proxy fight between Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.

In the table-thumping incident, Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal had reportedly locked horns right under Muhyiddin's nose.

Shafie, the MP from Sabah's east coast district of Semporna, is Sabah's first Umno vice-president and is seen as a blue-eyed boy of the prime minister.

Lately, local Umno circles have been spreading the word that Musa, who has been able to keep his influence as the state Umno liason chief, could be moved to the national capital in the next general election.

When Muhyiddin made an official three-day visit two weeks ago on the heels of Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam's trip to Sabah, he had officiated a meeting of Umno leaders.

Verbal tiff linked to allocations

According to Umno leaders present at the closed-door meeting, a discussion on federal government allocations for rural development sparked off the heated argument between Musa and Shafie.

Those present claimed that Musa had insisted that all federal allocations channelled through Shafie's ministry this year, should go through the state government.

They said Shafie however stood firm that federal allocations should be managed by his ministry as the state government had its own allocations for rural development.

The standoff, they said, led to Musa and Shafie banging the table to emphasise their points with Muhyiddin paying more attention to Musa's argument.

This set Umno tongues wagging that the deputy prime minister was supporting Musa against Shafie, who is said to be in line for the chief minister's post.

The feud between Musa and Shafie over Sabah Umno divisions is a well known story in local political circles.

During the last Umno division elections two years ago, Musa's supporters openly backed candidates who contested against leaders linked to Shafie.

The latest incident between the chief minister and the Umno vice-president has taken a different turn and is now being interpreted as a proxy fight between the premier and his deputy in preparation for next year's Umno elections.

The Musa-Shafie feud is seen by some observers as a tussle for the control of money flowing from Kuala Lumpur to strengthen their hold in Umno divisions in Sabah through the allocation of projects.

Musa is seen as the richest Umno leader in Sabah with his hold on the state coffers, timber concessions and state projects, while Shafie has been trying to gain ground with the latest allocations for rural development in Sabah.

Sabah, with the second largest number of delegates in the country to the Umno assembly, could well provide a turning point for the national leadership.

Axis being formed?

For quite some time now Musa, who has been chief minister for over five years, has been strengthening his grip on the party.

Some Umno members have been complaining that they are not receiving a fair share of state allocations through Musa as they are identified as supporters of his rival.

They described Musa as a shrewd businessman-politician and Shafie cannot not match him when it comes to using projects and money to keep power.

So when news of the table-thumping incident leaked, rumours begin to circulate that Musa was on his way out.

The talk in Sabah political circles is that Muhyiddin, Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Higher Education Minister Khalid Nordin are forming an axis to test the political waters against the camp of Najib and his cousin Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

Since Umno's entry into Sabah in 1990, the party's delegates have played a role as to how proxy fights at the national level could turn.

When former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad backed the late Ghafar Baba for the Umno deputy presidency, 14 Umno divisions led by Shafie's uncle Sakaran Dandai turned the tables on him.

They sent a memorandum supporting Anwar Ibrahim forcing Mahathir to drop his support for Ghafar.

Read more...

Majimbun: I am ready to vacate my MP seat...

This story and more in http://freemalaysiatoday.com/

KOTA KINABALU: A Sabah opposition member of Parliament is ready to quit his seat provided the Barisan Nasional government amends the federal and state constitutions to allow elected representatives who resign to re-contest or defend their seat in by-election or elections.

The Sepanggar MP was responding to a challenge by a state BN official to vacate his seat and defend it in a by-election.

Eric Majimbun said it would be even better if Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak called for the dissolution of Parliament to pave way for a general elections.

"Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman can also obtain the consent of the Yang Dipertua Negeri to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly to also pave the way for a State election," the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) deputy president told FMT.

He said the constitutions at the moment made it difficult for him to re-contest the seat as it disqualifies MPs or assemblymen for five years if they resign their seats.

Article 17(5) of the Sabah constitution provides that an elected member who resigns his membership of the legislative assembly shall be disqualified from contesting for five years from the date of resignation.

Sepanggar BN coordinating chief Jumat Idris over the weekend challenged the MP from the opposition party to vacate his parliamentary seat and defend it in a by-election.

Speaking at a Juara Rakyat gathering here Sunday, Jumat challenged Majimbun to quit yesterday and have a `replay of the March 8, 2008 election in Sepanggar.

Dissolve Parliament

The BN chief claimed that Sepanggar is the national coalition's stronghold.
"SAPP should stop dreaming of winning the seat again. They won before as their party was then still with BN. It will not be easy for SAPP through Datuk Eric Majimbun to win Sepanggar again," Jumat said.

Majimbun thanked Jumat for his timely proposal that elected representatives go back to the people for a fresh mandate.

"As the coordination chief for Sepanggar BN, it is for Jumat Idris to make his dream come true to be a Yang Berhormat. He should also call on BN leaders to amend the State and Federal Constitutions so as not to restrict any MPs from re-contesting in by-elections," Majimbun added.

He said Jumat should also call on Raymond Tan Shu Kiah (Tanjong Papat) and Au Kam Wah (Elopura) to resign from their respective state seats.The two assemblymen won their respective seats on SAPP-BN ticket in the 12th general election.

"Better still, If my good friend (Jumat) is a true statesman, he can always instruct his fellow BN leaders or himself to call on Prime Minister Najib to dissolve Parliament.

"Let there be a general elections for BN to go back to the people for a fresh mandate. Be my guest, Jumat can contest Sepanggar," he added.

Majimbun also said that BN leaders had, for too long, been trying to hoodwink the people with sweet talk and empty promises.

"BN should solve the major problems in Sabah … the explosive increase in population (due to the influx of illegal immigrants) and uplift the living standards of the people.
"Return the rights and power to the people of Sabah as promised by leaders during the formation of Malaysia. Sabahans are now only used as a tool by the federal government as fixed deposit in order to re-colonise Sabah." he said.

Read more...

Change the shirt (Tukar baju)

Change the shirt

Tue, 16 Mar 2010

By Phlip Rodrigues, Managing Editor of http://freemalaysiatoday.com

COMMENT

After nearly 50 years in Malaysia, Sabah is not a story that has a happy ring to it. It is still a backward state; in fact, it remains one of the poorest in the country. The gulf that separates the "land below the wind" from the peninsula is as wide and deep as the South China Sea.Let's take a walk down history lane. In the early years, politics over there had a laid-back quality. After the northern Bornean state joined Malaysia in 1963, Sabah was ruled by a succession of parties -- the United National Kadazan Organisation (1963-64); the Sabah Chinese Association (1965-67); United Sabah National Organisation (1967-75), which continued to hold power until 1976; and the shortlived reign of Berjaya (44 days). Then a new leader named Datuk Harris Salleh helmed Berjaya and went on to govern the state from 1976 to 1985.

It was during Harris' watch that politics took a turbulent turn and Sabah was never the same again. Harris grew increasingly autocratic and arrogant and thought the sky would not fall on him. But one man in his ruling party had had enough of his antics. The rebel: Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan.

Pairin quit Berjaya and formed Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) to challenge Harris. But "dirty" Harris went ballastic – he immediately abolished Pairin's district of Tambunan. This audacious act got the people all riled up and they finally threw him out of office when he clashed with Pairin in the 1985 state election.

When Pairin was in the driver's seat, his nine years in power as Chief Minister were anything but peaceful. He was in an uneasy partnership with the BN coalition. Dark forces in the form of Umno overlords were already preparing to get rid of this upstart Huguan Siou (paramount chief of the Kadazandusun).

When Pairin took the bold step to pull out of the coalition to join forces with a prince named Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Umno declared open warfare on him. It marched into Sabah on a spurious invitation of self-interested allies and promised the people a Sabah Baru in its strategy to wrest control of the state.

In the 1994 state polls, PBS managed to ward off the bullies but fell on the sword when PBS assemblymen defected to the other side. Pairin spent his time in the political wilderness while Umno and the band of PBS traitors gripped the levels of power firmly.

There was bad blood between Pairin and the man who was mostly responsible for grounding the state to dust – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The doctor held the favourite son of Sabah and his Kadazandusuns in utter contempt, describing his state as Malaysia's "Wild West". He went all-out to diminish their influence by changing the electoral boundaries to give the Muslims a dominant hold on power. It was nothing short of the colonisation of Sabah.

The KL strongman even threatened to cut off funds to the state, prompting Pairin to retort: "You can criticise America for imposing sanctions on Iraq but you should not impose sanctions on one of your own states."

There was no stopping the devious machination of the federal leaders. They introduced the politics of development, pouring funds to develop this economic backwater. To soothe the ruffled feelings of the non-Muslims, it rotated the chief ministership post. This Sabah Baru gambit paid off handsomely – the haughty coalition won convincingly in the 1999 state election.

Even the Huguan Siou was shaken by the massive BN victory. For him, there was only one way out – and that was to join the BN boys. He was admitted to the graft-ridden club – and has ever since remained docile, quiet, obedient.

Meanwhile, the BN juggernaut went about with its destructive ways. Emboldened by the solid mandate, it scrapped the rotating chief ministership to ensure that only Umno is in control. It even allotted to itself half of the state assembly seats (32 out of 60), while relegating the others to the background.

The greedy, grasping centre implemented several policies designed to strip the state of its wealth and make it beholden to Kuala Lumpur. They "annexed" Labuan on the pretext it wanted to help ease the financial burden of administering the island. They made it a federal territory without paying the state a single sen. They packed most of the top posts in the federal departments with civil servants from the peninsula. And they made sure that big businesses went mostly to peninsula-based companies.

Even in education, there was a whiff of perfidy – Sabah found that it could not call Universiti of Malaysia Sabah its own when it was built on its soil. Its students made up less than half of the student population, with the majority of them from Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.

The biggest blow was dealt when Sabah, a resource-rich state, found itself deprived of oil and gas wealth. The ravenous federal masters decided that oil did not belong to the state but to Malaysia. So, you must share your oil with the big peninsular brothers. In return for giving up its rights to the oil and gas, the state received a paltry royalty (five percent or RM351 million annually).

Once considered the second richest behind Selangor, Sabah has fallen on hard times: its poverty rate is now 16 percent. The RM19 billion allocated to the state under the Ninth Malaysia Plan was regarded as mere pittance – it formed only 8% of the national budget.

All these years, the big brothers have been riding roughshod over Sabah although they couched their cold treatment in the guise of national unity. Even after getting battered in 2008, and were luckily saved by the voters of Sabah, the previous flip-flop regime continued to give the state the cold shoulder.

Today, there are signs of restlessness in Sabah. We are not surprised. The rumblings of discontent and anger are getting louder and louder. We can feel it. In haste, federal leaders have been making quick trips to Sabah to show their phony concern. But the people over there know that the politics of development – exploiting natural resources, buying votes, under-representing the majority – has failed, and failed miserably.

New forces have reshaped the political life of the country and one slogan may triumph in Sabah, come the next battle – takaron bankad. It's "change the shirt". Change the shirt because the current government is not looking after the interest of the Sabahans.

Read more...

Ex-CM Salleh makes a comback

Line clear for Salleh back into the system

As published HERE today

KOTA KINABALU: Former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Salleh Tun Said is slowly being eased back into the centre of state politics.
Salleh, who lost favour with Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman and was dropped as a BN candidate in the last election, was today given the influential post of Kota Belud BN division chief.
Salleh was earlier this year appointed as Science and Technology Adviser to the Chief Minister, a post with Cabinet rank.
Announcing a new line-up of state BN chairmen after chairing a special state BN meeting, Musa said Kota Belud MP Rahman Dahlan would replace long-serving secretary Datuk Karim Bujang, the Bongowan assemblyman.
The coalition sees 10 new faces to be among the 25 division chairmen. Incidentally, it was Rahman who replaced Salleh as a candidate for the Kota Belud parliamentary seat.
The new line-up also sees replacement for three BN division chief posts formerly held by Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), which left the coalition in September 2008.
Kota Kinabalu division was taken over by Parti Bersatu Sabah deputy president Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai, Umno's Datuk Rubin Balang took over Tenom while Jumat Idris, also of Umno, took over as head of the Sepanggar division.
Also among the new faces are United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok is now the Penampang division chairman while Liberal Democratic Party president Datuk V K Liew will chair the coalition's Sandakan division.
Musa, who presented the letters of appointment from Barisan chairman, Prime Minsietr Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, said that all component parties at division level have been asked to submit the number of members at their branch levels.
He said that all Barisan division chairmen were also directed to coordinate activities with component parties as well as conduct activities to help solve people's problems in their respective areas.
"They have to strengthen the Barisan and prepare for the next general election," he told reporters.
He said an earlier meeting with eight member Sabah Barisan leaders was to discuss matters regarding party representation at local councils and also issues related to land.
"We were looking at ways to see how best to get parties to have their representatives in local councils," he said.Najib's people
Political insiders say Salleh's sudden return to the centre of Sabah politics is an interesting development.
"It appears that most of those elevated or retained are Najib's people. If that is the case, then Musa is losing his grip," said a source.
The return of Salleh also points to attempts to heal wounds that opened in United Sabah Bajau Organisation (USBO) after stalwarts, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and Datuk Datu Amir Kahar, the son of late Tun Mustapha Datu Harun, were not included in the list of BN candidates in the last election.
Salleh is the son of the late Tun Muhammad Said Keruak, a former chief minister himself and Sabah's seventh governor and founder member of the United Sabah National Organisation (USNO), the political party formed by his close friend, the late Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun.

Read more...

Yes starlet Zizie is Bung Mokhtar's second wife

'Yes we're married, now respect our privacy'

2009/12/20

By V. Vasudevan and Natasha Ilyas HERE

KUALA LUMPUR: The colourful and controversial Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin has admitted to marrying starlet Zizie Ezette.

The 50-year-old Kinabatangan member of parliament now wants his privacy respected.

Bung Mokhtar is currently abroad but denied he is on honeymoon with his new wife.

"I am with my children," he said when contacted by the New Sunday Times yesterday.

The garrulous MP had just a few days ago denied marrying the 31-year-old actress when rumours spread within and outside Parliament of his nuptials.

Asked when the marriage took place and pressed for other details, he said: "Everybody knows. No need for details. The newspapers have been writing a lot about it this whole week.

"It is best to just leave it alone. Pray for my happiness. No need for so many details."

On why he had been so coy initially when the rumours were circulating, he said: "I am a married man. I have to protect my other wife."

Will he hold a grand wedding reception for family and friends?

"When it is the right time, I will hold a reception.

"I will invite you. I will let you know."

The Sabah lawmaker, who has over the years earned a reputation for his outbursts at the Dewan Rakyat, sported a new look at the just-concluded 2010 Budget meeting.

He had dyed his grizzled hair black and looked slimmer.

He said he had worked off some of the excess pounds by exercising.

"I just stopped dying my hair and it went back to my natural colour."

The actress' mother, Khathy Fauziah, had earlier said she had no problems accepting the 50-year-old married politician as her son-in-law.

Zizie, when contacted, said she "respected" Bung Mokhtar's confirmation of their marriage. She declined to comment further.

Efforts to contact Bung Mokhtar's first wife, Datin Nor Asidah Alimuddin, were futile, with one aide saying that she had changed her number and another claiming her phone had been switched off the past few days.

Read more...

A study on the 13th State Election's Trend

United Sabah Dusun Association (USDA) will carry out a-one-year study on the trend of the March 8, 2008 State Election. Although it will only be officially launched on Sept 15, 2009, the exercise begin tomorrow (Sept 9, 2009).

The launching will be held in conjunction with the USDA's Malaysia Day Count Down at Padang Suworoh, Selupoh in Tuaran beginning 7.30pm.

According to the association's president Datuk Kalakau Untol, the study would be conducted throughout Sabah. USDA hopes to present a report, based on the study, on how the `people power' through the ballot boxes determined the mandate to Barisan Nasional (BN) to continue governing Sabah.

In last year's election, BN comprising of Umno, PBS, UPKO, LDP, SAPP, MCA and PBRS, won 59 of the 60 state's seats and 24 of the 25 parliamentary constituencies. The DAP, a Kuala Lumpur-based Opposition party, won one MP seat and a State constituency.

SAPP, however, pulled out from the coalition in September last year, bring along with them two MPs and two State seats.

Read more...

UPKO and Perak

Sabah-based political party, UPKO, on Saturday established four divisions in Perak. Although the party headed by Tan Sri Bernard Dompok has every right to spread its wing to any State in Malaysia, some Barisan Nasional's component party members are not happy.

Umno Tanjung Malim Division, where the four UPKO new divisions are located, is not happy as they claimed that the Sabah party came in from the `back door'. UPKO did not consult nor `knocked at the door' before coming in.

It will be interesting to know/hear what other BN leaders has to say about this latest development in politics.

Read more...

Khairy: A mockery if BN contests Penanti

Malaysia Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar was in Sabah yesterday to attend the Sabah Umno Youth meeting at the party's headquarters in Kota Kinabalu. He witnessed the handing over of duty between out-going acting State Umno Youth chief Nizam Titingan Abu Bakar to newly appointed head Azman Ruslan.

Speaking to reporters, Khairy said it would be a mockery for Barisan Nasional to contest in the Penanti by-election.

He said the youth supported the party's leadership decision not to field candidate in the by-election which had been fixed by the Election Commission to be held on May 31, 2009. Nomination day will be on May 23, 2009.

"This (not contesting) is to protest the opposition's act of belittling the nation's democratic system. Its not that BN is afraid. BN has never been afraid of the opposition, BN had contested in previous by-elections," he said.

The by-election is held after the resignation of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)assemblyman Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin, who was also Penang Deputy Chief Minister, on March 19, 2009.

In the March 8, 2008 general election, Mohammad defeated BN-Umno's Datuk Abdul Jalil Abdul Majid. He polled 7,346 votes while Abdul Jalil garnered 5,127 votes.

This will be the second time the voters in Penanti to go to the poll since the general elections last year.

A by-election was also held last year in the Permatang Pauh's parliamentary constituency when PKR president Datin Azizah resigned. Her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim contested and won. Penanti is one of the state constituencies within Permatang Pauh.

Read more...

MP Ghapur: Keeping Tan dangerous

Umno Kalabakan MP Datuk Abdul Ghapur Salleh said the Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) must stick to the principle of appointing only members of coalition partners to government posts.
Keeping independent BN supporters in the State Cabinet or other government positions would be "dangerous", which could destroy the coalition's unity and underlying strength in facing the electorate, he said.
Ghapur said this when commenting on the Liberal Democratic Party's call for partyless Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan to resign his Cabinet position, as it was unethical of him to continue in government without being a member of any of the BN party.
Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman has said on Monday that he will get the views of component parties before he makes a decision on Tan's position.
Tan, who had resigned from Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) after it quit BN on Sept 17 last year, said he was a Barisan supporter and was planning to form a new party together with other members against SAPP's move.
Ghapur said the retention of Tan would send a signal to other component party members in government that it was not wrong to leave a component party but still declare their support for the Barisan.
"If this is the case, then I can say I quit Umno but will remain independent supporting Barisan. Will the Barisan also accept my stand?
"I believe this is not the right way for the Barisan to operate under any circumstances," he added

Read more...

Suhaili claims trial

KOTA KINABAL: A day after being charged with cheating, former Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman pleaded not guilty in the Magistrate's Court here on April 14, 2009 to making a false statement in a statutory declaration 14 years ago.

The 48-year-old Labuan Umno chairman is charged with making a false statement before Justice of the Peace Mohd Naser Mohd Noor at the JP's office here for the purpose of registering Saraequity Sdn Bhd on Aug 3, 1995.

If convicted under section 193 of the Penal Code, he faces a jail term of up to three years with whipping and liability of a fine.Magistrate Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim allowed the application by deputy public prosecutor Kevin Morais to transfer the case to the Sessions Court.

No bail was given.

Suhaili was represented by counsel Rakhbir Singh.

The day earlier, Suhaili, whose term as Labuan Corporation chairman expired on March 31, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court to cheating a bank manager by using someone else's identity card to act as a guarantor for a RM160,000 bank loan in 1996.

The trial was fixed from Feb 8 to 12 next year.The politician who was dropped in the 2008 general election and replaced by Yusuf Mahal for the Labuan seat, has been in the news in the past few years for different reasons, including the death of his wife in October last year, following a botched liposuction surgery. BERNAMA

Read more...

Sabah Unmo Youth leader head arrested by MACC?

Sabah Umno Youth Datuk Japlin Akim and an UPKO member had been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), a source told Daily Express in Kota Kinabalu today.

Japlin, who is Usukan assemblyman and Sabah Infrastructure Development Assistant Minister the other leader were said to have been picked up from their respected houses by MACC officers from Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur..

They were subsequently brought to court and were remanded for three days to facilitate investigations.

A journalist of the local newspaper contacted Sabah MACC director Haji Jalil Jaffar but was told that he was not aware of details about the arrest of the duo as it was carried out by MACC officials from Puterajaya.

The youth leader was among the Umno members found guilty on March 17, 2009 of political corruption by the Umno Disciplinary Board headed by Tengku Rithaudeen Tengku Ismail and was suspended from Umno for three years.

Eventhough suspended from Umno, Sabah Chief Minister and State Umno chief Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman had said that Japlin could keep his seat as well as his Assistant Minister post.

.

Read more...

Musa hopes more Federal Ministers from Sabah Umno

Sabah Umno deserves to be given more Federal Minister posts following its strong showing at the Umno General Assembly, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman said Sunday.

Musa, who is also Sabah Umno liaison committee's chairman, said candidates from Sabah Umno won 100 per cent in the party's election with Semporna member of Parliament Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal creating history by winning one of the three Vice President posts.

Shafie, who is also Semporna Umno division chief and the first Umno leader from Sabah to win the post in the party's history, is currently Federal National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister.

Speaking to reporters on his return to Kota Kinabalu after campaigning in the Bukit Gantang, Perak by-election, Musa said," Sabah harbours hope that this time around, the State is more represented in the Federal Cabinet."

In the election, Musa also won a seat in the Umno Supreme Council together with Beaufort MP Datuk Haji Lajim Ukin and Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Moktar Radin. Lajim is Federal Deputy Transport Minister.

The other Sabah Umno leader that created history is Papar MP Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin who won the Puteri Umno chief post. Another Sabah leader who won is Datuk Hajah Azizah Mohd Dun, the Klias state assemblywoman and Sabah Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister.

Read more...

Kadazan/Dusun in Umno

Since Malaysia government's backbone United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) spread its wing to Sabah, non-Muslim natives of this Land Below the Wind had been accepted as members of the party.

In the recent UMNO general assembly, Kadazan/Dusun delegates from Sabah were in their traditional costume, complete with their traditional headgear `Sigah'. The delegates from Penampang Division was led by its head Datuk John Ambrose.

Read more...

Branch head wants to stop Umno assembly

Kampung Labian Umno branch's head Kunsul Nahul (pic) this afternoon lodged a police report in a bid to stop the March 24 Umno General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur. He claimed that delegates from the Umno Silam Division are illegal.

He filed his report at the City Police Headquarters in Karamunsing, Kota Kinabalu.

"All the delegates are illegal because complaints on money politics and breach of party's ethics filed with Umno Disciplinary Board and Umno Supreme Council have yet to be decided," Kunsul told reporters after making the police report.

Kunsul said the reports to the Supreme Council and the Board were pertaining to the Silam delegates' or their accomplices' involvement in cheating during the Division and Silam Wanita annual general meeting.

At the same police station, two other Umno members also made police reports against Sabah Umno chief/Chief Minnister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman and Sabah Youth head Datuk Japlin Akim.

Akob @ Damsah (Umno Taman Antarabangsa) and Padlee Shahibon ( Airport Lama Putatan), in their reports wanted the police to investigate Musa for abusing his position as Chief Minister for his personal interest in protecting Japlin.

They were referring the Musa's statement yesterday in which he said that Japlin, although being found guilty of money politics and his Umno membership suspended for three years, would continue to be Sabah Agriculture and Food Industry Assistant Minister.

Read more...

Masidi and Salleh not contesting Umno supreme council post

Ranau Umno division chief Datuk Masidi Manjun has withdrawn from contesting the Umno Supreme Council seat at the party's general assembly next month.

Masidi who is also Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister said the decision was necessary as he wanted to focus on his duties as minister and the state assemblyman for Karanaan.

"I have to focus on my official duties as tourism is one of the three thrusts of economic development under the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC)," he said in a statement in Kota Kinabalu today.

Masidi urged Sabah Umno delegates to the general assembly to ensure that Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman was returned as Umno Supreme Council member.

Masidi is the second Umno leader, who had qualified to contest in the party election, to pull out of the race.

Yesterday, Kota Belud Umno head Datuk Mohd Salleh Tun Said had also announced not to go ahead to contest in the party's election.

Salleh, a former Chief Minister, said he was not contesting so as to concentrate in strengthening the party in Kota Kinabalu. He also said that by pulling out, there will be more chance for the other leaders from Sabah to win.

Meanwhile, it is expected that several more Umno divisional leaders, who had secured enough nomination to contest, will be announcing not to join the fray in the March's Umno general election in Kuala Lumpur.

Read more...

Hishamuddin supports Shafie for UMNO VP

Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussien supports that an Umno leader from Sabah should be given votes to win one of Umno's Vice President post in the party's election next months.

Although the Education Minister did not mention any name but only one Umno leader from Sabah had obtained more than enough nominations to contest for a Vice Preisdent post in the coning election.

He is Semporna Umno's divisional head Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal, who is an elected Supreme Council member.

Speaking to Kota Belud Umno leaders in Kota Belud, Sabah on Tuesday, he said Umno should consider a proposal to include a Sabah leader to be selected Vice-President during next month's party elections.
He commended Sabah Umno for having made valuable contributions towards strengthening the party in the interest of the nation and its people.
He said Sabah Umno had continued to remain intact and strong since the party began entrenching itself in the State, 19 years ago.
The strength of Sabah Umno should be portrayed as a fine example of unity and solidarity among the members that should be emulated by the respective divisions in the peninsula, he said.

In this respect, Deputy Prime Minister and Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would need to accorded due attention to the party's Sabah leaders for inclusion in the Supreme Council line-up, he added.

Read more...

Are they here to campaign?

These few days Sabah welcomes the arrival of four Federal Ministers making official visit to this Land Below the Wind.

They are Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein, Information Minister Datuk Ahmd Shabery Cheek and Rural and Regional Development Minister Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammed Taib.

Minister in the Prime Minister Tan Sri Bernard Giluk Dompok, as usual, is back home to his Penampang constituency every weekend. Another Sabahan Federal Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal is also home in Semporna.

There are also several Deputy Ministers in the State during the weekend.

Syed Hamed was here to launch the Statelevel Rela Day celebrations at the Rela Training Centre in Gayang Tuaran. He also visited Tawau. Hishamuddin launched the Campus Astro programme in Nabawan, in Pensiangan and also met Umno leaders in Papar.

Ahmad Sahabery, meanwhile, was in Sandakan yesterday before proceeding to Kota Kinabalu to launch the Sabah @1 RTM TV1 News Breakaway channel. Muhammad was in Pulau Banggi, Kudat visiting the Banggi Island Agropolitan project.

Even though all the federal ministers visited different places, they all came down to Kota Kinabalu before leaving for Kuala Lumpur either tonight or tomorrow.

"It is a blessing that we are only in the tenth days of February that we have four federal ministers coming visiting Sabah," a local community said. He said such visits must be on regular basis.

A former Federal Minister hoped that these visits by the Ministers, all from Umno, has nothing to do with the March Umno general elections. He said all of the four ministers are contesting in the party's election.

Read more...

Rizalman refuses to accept defeat

Former Tenom Member of Parliament Datuk Rizalman Abdullah is not accepting defeat in the Tenom Umno divisional election last Saturday held at the Chung Hwa Primary School's hall in Tenom.

He polled 133 and lost the division's chief post, which he had held for 17 years to Kemabong Assemblyman Datuk Rubin Balang who garnered 189 votes.

Rizalman alleged that he lost due to money politics and outside intervention to the poll and had lodged reports with the Anti-Corruption Agency.

He also claimed that about 100 delegates, who were his supporters, were given money and was asked to spend the weekend at a resort in Tuaran, near Kota Kinabalu

Read more...

Rubin new Tenom Umno chief

Former Assistant Minister Datuk Rubin Balang won the Tenom Umno divisional chief post after garnering 189 votes, defeating incumbent former Tenom Member of Parliament Datuk Rizalman Abdullah who polled 133 votes.

The result was announced about 9pm last night after both leaders requested for recount of votes. All in all the votes were counted 10 times.

During the series of recount, there were times when Rubin, who is Kemabong Assemblyman, lost to Rizalman by one vote and Rizalman lost to Rubin by 2 votes. The conference and election was attended by 325 delegates.

This election was the second when the first one in October, where Rizalman was declared winning the post uncontested, was declared void.

Suhaili Guraman was elected deputy chief.

Meanwhile, the division nominated Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as the party's president and International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as deputy president.

For the three vice president seats, it nominated Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and former Melaka Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik.

Read more...