KOTA KINABALU: Umno's central leadership has never interfered with Sabah Umno's decisions in choosing coalition partners in the upcoming Sabah elections, says Datuk Suhaimi Nasir.
The Sabah Umno information chief said that the state chapter had the autonomy to outline and determine its own political direction for the state in the coming election.
"This autonomous power gives freedom to Sabah Umno to determine the party's own direction in the state," he said in a statement Thursday (Jan 16).
Suhaimi said that to date, the national Umno leadership has never directed or interfered in the affairs of Sabah Umno, especially in choosing its partners for the election.
The Libaran MP was dismissing an online portal's claims that the state Umno did not have autonomy to make its own decisions and had listened to national Umno decisions and described the posting as half-baked.
"Umno, at the national level through the supreme council, only advises Sabah Umno regarding the cooperation between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan for the sake of political stability in Sabah," he said.
He added that this was because the two coalitions are the main pillars in the formation of the federal unity government that came from lessons learned from the country seeing three prime ministers and three administrations in one term.
"The constant changes during the last term had badly affected both the people and the economy of the country," he said.
Suhaimi said the advice from the national Umno leadership was to achieve a balance to ensure that the state Umno was not in conflict with the national Umno policies.
"Ultimately the decision rests with Sabah Umno.
"This autonomy is not just symbolic but reflects Umno's commitment in respecting the rights and voice of the people of Sabah," he added.
"This autonomy strengthens Umno's position as a national party that understands, defends and fights for the interests of the people of this state," Suhaimi added.
