UMNO Sabah leaders today hinted at their readiness to leave Umno if its undertaking was in conflict with the central party leadership.

The state chapter has submitted a memorandum to the central leadership requesting for autonomy, and have received, in principle, the nod from Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

All party decisions are usually made by the central leadership, and Umno needs to amend its constitution in order to provide for more decision-making powers at the state level.

Umno Sabah secretary Masidi Manjun hinted the possibility of finding other alternatives after the state chapter formalised its membership with the Gabungan Bersatu Sabah (GBS) coalition today.

“The president has announced that he would give autonomy to Sabah, and we have opined, if this is given, we will be free to make our own decisions.

“If a conflict does arise between us and the central leadership following decisions made under the GBS, we will cross the bridge when we get there,” he told reporters during the launching of the new state coalition in Kota Kinabalu today.

Critics believe Umno Sabah will not be in sync with a coalition comprising largely state parties as it needs to refer all its decisions to the central leadership.

This would leave state Umno leaders with no choice but to leave the party and form a new one, so they would be able to make decisions on their own.

After months of talks, the opposition in Sabah have finally formed GBS, comprising Umno Sabah, Parti Bersatu Sabah, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Solidariti).

The coalition will have 21 state assemblymen and ten MPs. – October 24, 2018.