“We will go along with the leadership in the peninsula — if they have decided (not to work with PN), we will follow,” Bung told reporters after the Kinabatangan Umno divisional delegates meeting in Sandakan today.
When pressed why this was so considering they are part of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) ruling state coalition, the Sabah Umno chief said: “The autonomy for Sabah Umno was only for the state elections (last year)”.
He was referring to the authority given to the party’s state leadership to choose its electoral partners in the previous state elections.
“As for the general election, the autonomy lies with the central leadership.
“That’s our agreement because we (Sabah Umno) are not the ones eyeing the prime minister’s post,” he said.
Bung added that Sabah BN would also wait for a directive from Kuala Lumpur on whether to place candidates in all the 25 parliamentary seats in the state.
GRS, which comprises PN (Bersatu, STAR, SAPP, PAS and Gerakan), BN (Umno, PBRS, MCA and MIC) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), defeated Warisan Plus in the Sabah polls last year.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said on Oct 1 that the party’s decision not to work with Bersatu in the next general election was final.
His statement comes a day after PN said it would be discussing seat allocations without involving BN.
Meanwhile, Bung said Sabah BN had more or less identified the potential candidates to be fielded in GE15.
He said the state leaders would visit all the parliamentary divisions next month to “survey” the candidates.
However, he said they needed to make a detailed assessment on which areas Umno or BN enjoyed substantial support before deciding to contest the seats.
Nevertheless, he said the state chapter had already made preparations ahead of the polls.
“We have mobilised our machinery and created the necessary positions at the grassroots level state-wide.
“We have also deployed our branches as well as the Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings to identify areas with hardcore Umno supporters,” Bung said.