PETALING JAYA: The Federal Constitution does not prohibit peninsula-based parties from contesting parliamentary seats in Sabah, says Sabah Umno information chief Suhaimi Nasir.
Umno has a long history in the state, and its Sabah chapter operates autonomously, Suhaimi said. As such, there was no question of Umno not respecting Sabah’s autonomy, he added.
“Those from Umno contesting seats in Sabah are themselves Sabahans. Sabah Umno has also been empowered to handle matters according to practices in the state,” he told FMT.
Suhaimi also said the party has never been silent on the state’s constitutional entitlement to 40% of its net revenue.
“Sabah Umno is committed to speaking up and raising the matter with the federal government,” he said.
Suhaimi said STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan’s call for parties based in Peninsular Malaysia not to contest parliamentary seats in the state was in itself unconstitutional.
Kitingan had asked for all peninsula-based parties to respect the state’s political autonomy by not contesting parliamentary seats in Sabah.
Borneo Daily yesterday reported him as saying that the presence of Malayan parties disrupts Sabah’s “unique history and political dynamics” and sows “division among the local population”.
The Daily Express also reported Kitingan as saying last month that peninsula-based parties taking over Sabah’s state and parliamentary seats “automatically makes us lose our autonomy”.
He said the entry of peninsula-based parties to the state had led to “colonialism by proxy”.
