PPBM forms being distributed to Tawau Umno members

KOTA KINABALU - Sabah Umno has claimed PPBM forms are being distributed to its members in Tawau.

The members were also told that their east coast division had been dissolved.

In a statement here late today, Sabah Umno Youth vice-chief Ghazalie Ansing also alleged that some of the Umno members had been registered as PPBM members without their prior knowledge or permission.

“I want to stress that the Tawau Umno division has definitely not been dissolved and is instead undergoing a restructuring process, with new appointments of committee members.

“I wish to remind former Umno leaders in Tawau to stop such a desperate effort to recruit new PPBM members. It seems like a ploy to encourage the party to set foot in Sabah.

“As such, I urge my fellow Umno members not to be deceived by claims from former Umno members that the party would be banned,” he said.

Ghazalie, who is also the Tawau Umno Youth chief, said Sabah Umno is presently undergoing a natural cleansing.

He added the previous leaders who used Umno as a tool to enrich themselves had all left the party.

Led by former Sabah Umno chief Hajiji Mohd Noor, the nine assemblymen, five MPs, two senators and over a dozen other division heads resigned from Sabah Umno on Dec 12.

It immediately sparked speculation that the leaders were ready to join PPBM.

The presence of PPBM Supreme Council members Rais Hussin and Rafiq Naizamohideen during a press conference to announce the mass exodus further fuelled the rumours even more.

Five days after the mass exodus, photos of the former senior Sabah Umno leaders holding “PPBM membership forms” surfaced and went viral on social media.

When asked, the leaders however said they were still independents but supportive of the ruling government.

Warisan has stated that there was an understanding that PPBM would not open branches in Sabah.