KOTA KINABALU: Sabah UMNO Election Director Jeffrey Nor has refuted the allegations of a split within Sabah UMNO.
He emphasised that there is no division among the state leaders of UMNO, as claimed by some parties.
The Putatan UMNO chief said that the current leadership of Sabah UMNO allows any leader to voice their opinions in line with democratic principles.
“Unlike the old Sabah UMNO leadership that seemed to not give any leader the right to speak up, the current Sabah UMNO leadership is more open and celebrates differences of opinion,” he said in a statement today.
Jeffrey made these remarks in response to a statement by the Chairman of Gerakan Kuasa Malaysia (G57), Datuk Zulkarnain Mahdar, who implied the existence of a division within Sabah UMNO.
Jeffrey also questioned Zulkarnain’s right to interfere in Sabah UMNO’s internal affairs.
“He (Zulkarnain) himself admits that he has been a grassroots member of UMNO for a long time.”
“It is clear here that he has already left. So my advice is to focus on your own party affairs and not try to comment on UMNO Sabah. Your views are irrelevant to us,” he said.
Jeffrey suggested that it would be better for Zulkarnain to wait for the upcoming 17th state election and advised the current state government to focus first on improving basic issues, especially addressing water, electricity, and road problems.
He also expressed his confusion over the mentality of some parties accusing Sabah UMNO of being a Malayan party.
“They sometimes accuse UMNO Sabah of being a Malayan party, but criticise when decisions are made based on autonomy with the reason that the decision has not been made by MKT members and the President.
“One moment you say we are a Malayan party, the next moment you get angry because we do not follow the orders of the Malayan party.
“What else do they really want? What I can say is that UMNO Sabah has autonomy over many things, especially regarding membership and the direction of UMNO Sabah,” he said.
Jeffrey admitted that many leaders and members have left UMNO.
“But that is not because of YB Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin. We all know the real purpose is because they want to pursue positions, rewards, and influence within government institutions.
“How can they do that if UMNO Sabah is considered the opposition? Besides, we all know where they are jumping. The fact cannot be denied,” he said.
Therefore, Jeffrey advised Zulkarnain to remain silent when talking about Sabah UMNO.
“Do not show all your political ignorance to be attacked by the opposing party, and most importantly, at this time, the people are facing a flood disaster, so I welcome Datuk Zulkarnain to come down to the field to provide assistance to the flood victims… so let’s reduce political talk for now,” he said.
