KOTA KINABALU: United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Orgainzation (UPKO) president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok should have heeded his warning on the changing political sentiment among the urban Kadazandusun Murut (KDM) voters, said party defector Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing.
The former UPKO deputy president said Dompok could have saved himself from losing his Penampang parliamentary constituency had he taken the advice to pull the party out of Barisan Nasional (BN) before the elections.
In fact, had UPKO chosen to answer the call from the people and stand against BN, it would have become the biggest KDM party in the opposition that could have helped oust the ruling coalition, he added.
“I had actually told him (Dompok) personally before, when I told UPKO to come out from BN. I had told him that UPKO was going against the mood of the people, and it was made long before I made the announcement (to quit BN).
“Penampang is an urban Kadazandusun and Murut (KDM) area which cannot be bought with money, and this is proven by the election result. In Tuaran, I won Kiulu and Tamparuli but lost in Sulaman. That tells you everything,” he said to reporters here when asked to comment on the massive defeat of his former boss.
Bumburing who after leaving UPKO had set up Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) and aligned himself with opposition Parti Pakatan Rakyat (PKR), maintained that he and Dompok are still good friends.
Despite contesting opposite sides, Bumburing claimed he and Dompok had not hit against each other when campaigning during the elections.
He even praised Dompok as a seasoned politician who had contributed significantly to Sabah and its people.
“Tan Sri Bernard had done good things for the state, but probably because of certain overriding factors he lost in the election,” he said.
As for his decision to abandon UPKO and BN, Bumburing said he never regretted joining the opposition, although the overall election result was not as he had expected.
“I think I can walk tall in town. And we never regretted what we have done,” he said, adding that without money politics, he believed the results of the rest of the KDM areas would be the same as in Penampang.