PETALING JAYA: Sabah Umno may consider cooperating with Warisan only after the state election, says the state chapter’s information chief Suhaimi Nasir.
Although discussions with Warisan are going smoothly, Suhaimi said a cautious stance might be adopted to prevent a recurrence of the issues faced during the 2020 state polls, where many agreements with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) were allegedly unfulfilled.
“We will refrain from making promises or forming alliances before the state election. We’ll see how many seats each party gets, and then proceed to form the government,” he told FMT.
The Libaran MP was asked to comment on Umno’s ongoing negotiations with local parties ahead of the polls, which are being anticipated despite the state assembly’s term ending only in October 2025.
In the 2020 state polls, Umno-led Barisan Nasional teamed up with GRS and three independents when it won 44 out of 73 seats in the Sabah state legislative assembly.
They defeated Warisan and Pakatan Harapan, appointing Hajiji Noor as chief minister.
Last January, Umno withdrew its support for Hajiji’s administration, leading to the removal of its chairman Bung Moktar Radin as deputy chief minister.
Suhaimi claimed that Hajiji’s unkept promises included the issue of positions at the grassroots level, such as village chiefs, where more GRS members were selected over Umno.
“According to the agreement, the allocation was supposed to be 60 from Umno and 40 from GRS, but when the government was formed, it was the opposite,” he said.
Suhaimi also claimed that allocations to ministries headed by Umno representatives, including the works ministry under Bung, were slashed to RM300 million despite being originally designated at RM700 million.
“This was despite these allocations being earmarked to fulfil the basic needs of the people such as water, electricity, and roads.
“Jafry Ariffin (former Sabah tourism, culture, and arts minister) requested additional allocations to boost tourism activities after the movement control order, which was agreed on but not fulfilled when the budget was presented,” he said.
As such, Suhaimi said Sabah Umno would be exercising caution in determining its cooperation and instead focus on strengthening its capabilities to contest independently in the state election.
“When we are strong, then all parties will come to us (and seek collaboration),” he said.
