Mass exodus spells end for Umno in Sabah — Political analyst

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KUCHING: The decision of all but two of Umno Sabah’s elected representatives to quit the party yesterday is not at all surprising, says political analyst Professor James Chin.

He says the writing was on the wall for Umno the moment Tan Sri Musa Aman lost the chief minister’s post, as the Sungai Sibuga assemblyman was regarded as the ‘glue’ and ‘moneyman’ of the party.

“Another reason is Shafie Apdal.

“As a former Umno minister, he knows all of them (those who left Umno), so it is only logical they will jump ship to join Warisan now that he is the chief minister,” said Chin, referring to Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who is also president of the ruling Parti Warisan Sabah.

Apart from Musa, Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Moktar Radin
was the other elected representative who chose to remain with Umno.

With yesterday’s mass departures, Chin said Umno no longer has a future in Sabah as the current political scenario in the state is all about controversies surrounding the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and state nationalism.

“Umno is now seen as a coloniser,” he said.