PETALING JAYA, 30 November – Deputy Women Chief of Umno’s Semporna Division, Sabah Kalasahan Abdul Salam declared her withdrawal from the party and resigns from all her positions in the party with immediate effect today, to join PKR.
This decision was made due to the breakdown of leadership in the Umno Semporna Division particularly the Division Head held by Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, one of the three Vice Presidents of Umno.
According Kalasahan, she has served for two terms since 2004 to 2012 and found that the leadership of Shafie is that of a dictatorship rule which makes Umno Sempoerna seem privately owned.
She added that the Sempoerna Division of Umno’s leadership leans towards participating in division, exclusion and marginalisation which is contradictory to the party’s concept.
“The nature of favoritism, cronyism and nepostism continues to be a practice and is denser in the Semporna Umno leadership pattern. They (Umno division) are far off track.
“Umno Semporna is also not managed based on the party’s constitution. The lack in transparency is too much in the administration and divisional meetings as well as in the Umno Semporna Division,” she said witnessed by PKR Deputy President, Azmin Ali.
She also explained that as the Minister of Rural Development, Shafie has also failed as a whole in his duty to develop Semporna.
“I also regret and repent regarding the sabotage carried out by the party leaders towards BN Bugaya State Assembly candidate in the 11th General Elections (2004) and the BN Sulabayan State Assembly candidate in the 12th General Elections in 2008.
“Those who had committed this sabotage were given special protection from the Umno leader of Samporna who also holds the position of the Semporna Umno Division Chief,” she said.
Meanwhile, Kalasahan’s husband, Abdul Habi Mustpha insisted that the issue of his ‘sacking’ which was in the media should be corrected as he had already left Umno on the 17th of November.
“Five days after my resignation, the announcement was made which involves a wide broadcast stating that I have been sacked from Umno.
“Why should I be sacked when I had already left Umno. This shows rapacity in Umno,” he said.
He also said that Shafie’s failure in developing the community of Samporna is clearly revealed when the district ranked last in the results for primary and secondary school examinations.
