KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno will rise again with cleaner and more energetic leaders after the exodus of its senior party members on Wednesday (Dec 12), says the Sabah Umno youth chief.
Abdul Aziz Zulkarnain, who remained in the party after the senior leaders quit, said he sees this as a "cleansing" process that bodes well for the party in the state.
“Those who left are mostly the division chiefs, but this does not affect Umno because we are a structured organisation
"The deputies will automatically go up as acting chief once the leader is out,” he said when contacted.
“Those that will take over are more energetic, they are clean,” he added.
Earlier on Dec 12, nine of 10 Umno Sabah assemblymen, five of six MPs, two senators and 21 of 25 division heads announced a mass exodus from the party.
He said they have seen this coming for Sabah Umno and have made their preparations to ensure that the party will continue the fight "for the people".
Aziz said the mass resignation of Sabah Umno leaders not only serves the interests of the politicians involved.
A greater driving factor is that they do not trust the current Umno president, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He added that Zahid was a leader without proper direction, and that this is dividing members in Umno.
“I hope the manifestation of today’s event will send a message to the president, and that he will think about this properly,” Aziz said.
He said though the senior leaders who quit may see that working with the government will benefit the people more, he feels that being in the opposition front was better.
“We can really voice out our concerns for the people, what is wrong with the government and so on, if we are in the opposition,” he said.
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