Unfair to ask Zahid to step down, says Bung

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno chief Datuk Bung Moktar Radin has labelled calls asking Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahidi Hamidi to step down as unfair, as Umno’s poor showing in the recent state polls was a collective responsibility of the party leadership.

Bung, who is also an Umno supreme council member, in urging for such calls to stop, said there were four years (until the next general election) for the party to fix its structure to strengthen the party’s fundamentals and go back to basics.

“I believe in four years, Umno will rise again during the next general election.

“What is important is the party’s aspirations to intensify our strength, among them multiplying the functions and roles of the Pemuda, Wanita, and Puteri wings.

“Let’s not be what they call ‘sebagai tupai tebuk rumah sendiri’ (creating chaos in our own home), it’s not good.

“We have had enough of Umno leaders leaving and turning into rivals trying to destroy the party,” he said in a statement Friday (Aug 18).

He said that the party members and leaders must look back at the time when Ahmad Zahid took over the party helm in 2018 when the party was in such a bad state that some did not wish to even contest for elections.

“But he (Ahmad Zahid) continued to put himself on the line up until now,” stressed Bung Moktar.

He also said looking at the big picture, Umno should not be viewed as facing a massive defeat in the recent state polls, instead, it was Perikatan Nasional that did since in the beginning, the latter coalition claimed to be able to capture four to five states.

Meanwhile, speaking on the political front in Sabah, he said Sabah Umno will practice caution and will work only with parties that honor agreements made with each other.

The pact process made with other parties previously has taught Sabah Umno to be more mature when creating alliances with other political parties in the state.

“We will work with parties that honor agreements made and that are beneficial to Umno and Sabah state.

“We will also look at political allies that are loyal and sincere in serving the people as a team … We no longer want internal crises appearing that could jeopardize efforts to develop Sabah,” he added.

However, Bung Moktar said it was still too early to determine this and what should be focused on is strengthening their party’s machinery.