ANOTHER Umno leader has signalled to Sabah Bersatu to not be hasty in declaring its desire to contest the bulk of seats in the state’s impending election.

Vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin took issue with Sabah Bersatu chief Hajiji Noor’s statement earlier today that it will contest 45 out of 73 state seats.

“He has his party, we have ours. Bersatu only exists in Sabah because of some traitors.

“Umno will continue to get the support of the grassroots,” Khaled said on Facebook along with a post on Hajiji’s remarks.

Umno Youth information chief Shahril Hamdan earlier criticised Hajiji for rushing to declare the number of seats desired even before negotiations with Sabah Umno.

“Don’t dream,” Shahril said.

Umno and Bersatu are now collaborators at federal level in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, but Umno leaders in recent days have stressed that PN does not exist as a political coalition, and only as a government.

These signals come as Sabah prepares to go for an early state election after its legislative assembly was dissolved on July 30, following claims by former chief minister Musa Aman that 13 assemblymen had switched camps to support his bid to form a new administration.

Khaled’s reference to Sabah Bersatu being formed by traitors is due to the fact that the splinter party’s assemblymen are mostly defectors from Umno following its loss of federal power in the 2018 general election. Hajiji was among those who quit Umno to join Bersatu. – August 1, 2020.