KOTA KINABALU: Reconciliation between Sabah Umno led by Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) under Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is unlikely to happen, says state Umno election director Jeffrey Nor Mohamed.
Sabah Umno will remain cautious about any political partnerships because previous written electoral pacts with GRS were not respected or honoured, he claimed.
"It was a bitter lesson for us," he said Monday (Aug 12) when commenting on a statement by Chief Minister Hajiji that did not rule out the possibility of GRS working with Sabah Umno again.
Hajiji had pointed out that a group of Sabah Umno leaders continued serving in the GRS-led state government after Bung Moktar led a withdrawal of support in a failed attempt to topple it in January last year.
Jeffrey said those leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya, did not represent Umno and had either been suspended or sacked from the party.
"They do not reflect an Umno presence in Hajiji's Cabinet," he said, adding that those leaders might even have joined GRS parties if the anti-party hopping law did not exist.
Jeffery said the claim that Umno was represented in the state government and government-linked companies was a political ploy to mislead the public.
He said his party had been clear that it would approach any proposed political pact with caution ahead of the state election due next year.
“It is not likely Sabah Umno will partner with a coalition that lacks loyalty and sincerity in fulfilling its responsibilities to advocate for the welfare of the people of Sabah,” said Jeffrey, who is Putatan Umno division chief.
He said GRS lacked transparency in its own stand as it has two assemblymen from Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and PAS, which are with the national Opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional, supporting it at the state level.
"How sincere is the GRS government with such an arrangement?" he asked.
Jeffrey said that from the outset of their collaboration in the September 2020 state election, GRS had not honoured various agreements, leading to Sabah Umno eventually withdrawing its support.
