Shafie decides to quit Umno
Published on: Tuesday, July 05, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Umno vice president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal (pic) Monday announced his resignation from the party, 10 days after he was suspended by the party's supreme council.Shafie said he has no immediate plans to form or join any political party for now. "I want to take things stage by stage. "Now I want to celebrate Hari Raya in the kampung first. It's been 15 years since I last celebrated the festival with my wife," said the Semporna Member of Parliament.
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Shafie said he was disappointed that the party had punished him without allowing him to defend himself. "They punished me in my absence, when I was performing my umrah. My suspension was based on speeches I made, without even looking into the services I had contributed to all the years to the party." Shafie also denied claims that he had plans to follow Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the latter's campaign to bring down the Barisan Nasional government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. "But I will continue my struggle for Sabahans and fight for us against any wrongdoing in the country," he said in a heated speech that was broadcast via the Facebook Live application.
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In his hour-long speech, Shafie emphasised his loyalty to the party, insisting that he never strayed or conspired with the opposition during his time in Umno."I was never given the right to answer allegations of mixing with the Opposition.
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"I could have defended myself but they decided to suspend me and then investigate me. I love the party," he said, and asked why no action was taken against other state leaders, who have been meeting with Sabah Opposition leaders. He said the breaking point came when he was suspended as party vice-president on June 24 without being asked to answer for alleged disciplinary breaches. "There has been a lot of lies told about me including that I was going to take over Usno Baru (a new party formed after Usno dissolved to allow Umno into Sabah). "These were outright lies spread about me," he said, adding that he was now disillusioned with the national leadership. Shafie, who is the nephew to Sabah Umno's first chief minister Tun Sakaran Dandai, was the first party vice-president from the state and has been Semporna MP since 1995 and held various federal Cabinet positions between 1999 and 2015 before he was dropped as a minister in July last year. Among those present was former Berjaya minister Datuk Mohd Noor Mansor.Earlier on Twitter, he also said that as a vice president of the party, it was his responsibility to keep the leadership in check. On June 24, Umno announced that it was sacking deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former Kedah mentri besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir for cooperating with the opposition, while Shafie was to be suspended.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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