Eight Umno Sabah rebels were loners

Their meeting with the PM shows democracy is practised in Umno and freedom of speech is encouraged.

KOTA KINABALU: A pro-Barisan Nasional NGO has dismissed the meeting between eight Umno Sabah divisional chiefs and Prime Minister Najib Razak in Putrajaya on July 10 as the work of loners. The eight reportedly proposed a transition plan for the top leadership in the Sabah Government.

“It’s their personal view,” said Pakatan NGO pro-BN President Zulkarnain Mahdar.

“It’s not necessarily the view of the members in their divisions and that of BN members in their respective constituencies.”

He believes that, on the other hand, the transition plan proposed could be taken as an indication of the desire to facilitate a smooth transition of leadership “when the time comes”.

“In that case, the views reflect that democracy is being truly practised in Umno and there’s freedom of speech,” he added. “No one can be free of criticism.”

He noted that even Najib has been asked to step down in the wake of criticisms levelled at him by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

“Even Mahathir literally asking Najib to resign is not a view held by the majority in Malaysia,” said Zulkarnain in making a comparison with Sabah.

Zulkarnain did not comment on two of the divisional leaders, Bolkiah Ismail of Kudat and James Ratib of Beluran, denying recently that they had anything to do with the transition plan. They conceded however that they were present during the meeting with Najib.

Jumat Idris of Sepanggar, one of the divisional leaders who met Najib, has explained, “…it’s normal in any organisation to pave the way for a smooth transition”. He denied that he was part of a plot seeking to overthrow Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman.

It’s known that four of the other five divisional leaders are Rubin Balang (Tenom); Ghani Yassin (Pensiangan); Sairin Karno (Keningau); and John Ambrose (Penampang). Except for probably Ghani Yassin, the other three are defectors from Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

The identity of another divisional leader could not be immediately confirmed.