The Malaysian Insight

UMNO will amend its constitution this year to grant autonomy to its Sabah chapter, said supreme council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan. 

This will allow Sabah Umno to its own chief, and candidates for election and chief minister.

Abdul Rahman, who is former Kota Belud MP, said a special section on the chapter’s autonomy will be adopted into the party constitution at its annual general meeting end of this year.

“It will spell out what is it that we (Sabah Umno) can do on our own.

“This means Sabah Umno will no longer need the approval from supreme council members as all matters are decided by the state leadership,” he said during an Umno meet-the-people session in Tuaran, Sabah on Sunday.

He also said Sabah Umno will also be seeking one quota for the post of vice-president.  

“It looks like the leadership is agreeable but it has to be brought to the meeting this year end.”

He said if the supreme council agrees, the post will not be appointed, but contested among Sabah Umno leaders so it will be a democratic choice.

Sabah Umno has been shocked by defections following the party’s defeat in the state during the last general election.

Almost all of its state reps and MPs have defected to Bersatu, leaving only former chief minister Musa Aman as the sole Umno rep in the Sabah assembly. – April 17, 2019