KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak, the Kota Belud Umno Division chief, who is one of several Sabah Umno leaders who resigned from the party yesterday, said he and his colleagues decided to leave the party to enable them and the present state and federal governments to focus on the future of Sabah’s growth and development.
Salleh, who is the former federal communications and multimedia minister and former Umno treasurer, said Sabah needed to build a strong relationship with the federal government for the sake of the continued growth and development of Sabah.
“This is the immediate priority as much needs to be done and, with the uncertainties in the global economy, the focus becomes even more important,” he said in a statement.
Salleh, who is also the former Sabah Umno deputy liaison chief, was responding to the announcement by Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor of the resignation of the entire Sabah Umno Liaison Committee as well as 14 elected representatives and almost all the division chiefs from Sabah Umno.
He said most of those who resigned joined Umno when the party spread its wings to Sabah in 1994 so that the state would not be isolated from Putrajaya and be left behind while the other states move forward and develop.
However, he said, the 14th general election in May this year changed the entire landscape of Malaysian politics whereby the Umno-led Barisan Nasional was no longer the federal government and Sabah Umno could no longer sway Putrajaya like it used to.
“Taking this new political reality into consideration, my colleagues and I decided to leave Umno so that we can focus on the future of Sabah and ensure Sabah’s growth and development,” he said.
Meanwhile, Beaufort MP and former Wanita Umno vice-head Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun, who also resigned from the party yesterday, said the decision to quit was made for the good of the people of Sabah.
“We (who resigned today) are a team and the decision was made jointly,” she told reporters.
Lumadan assemblyman Matbali Musah said the decision was timely as it placed the people’s interests above everything else.
He said the people, especially the constituents of Lumadan, needed reforms to address the problems they faced. – Bernama
