PUTRAJAYA: The 24 Sabah BN Members of Parliament have ignored a proposal by Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal to sign a pledge of loyalty to the PM.
However Umno Secretary-General Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor said the move was not meant to belittle them but to reinforce what they have already said in Permatang Pauh and elsewhere.
"I don't think the Sabah MPs are not trustworthy. You know there are lots of gimmicks by the opposition, especially their great actor (Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim).
"They will continue to do all sorts of things to split us but I believe the MPs, including those in the peninsula, will not jump to their sides. Whether they want to sign the pledge or not, it is up to them," Adnan said.
Sabah BN Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Anifah Aman had described the move as an insult to the Sabah MPs. He had said various Sabah MPs, including himself, had repeatedly voiced their loyalty to the BN leadership and that they had no intention of crossing over to the opposition.
On Thursday, Shafie had said that Sabah and Sarawak MPs would submit a pledge declaring their loyalty to the Prime Minister by Friday or Saturday.
Meanwhile. he said, Umno has embarked on a "cleansing" drive to get rid of members who have joined opposition parties.
All divisions will have to submit their new membership lists as soon as possible.
Tengku Adnan, said all divisions in the states would have to vet the membership lists before submission. The recently concluded Permatang Pauh by-election served as an eye-opener for Umno. "Many of our members did not vote for Barisan Nasional because they had joined either PAS or Parti Keadilan Rakyat. The data showed there were 90,800 Urnno members in Permatang Pauh but only 10,700 voted in the byelection.
"The branches came to me and said most of them had jumped ship. They blan:ed the headquarters, saying we never took action even though they had written to us. I promised that I would take action this time."
The Putrajaya MP said Umno would delete the names "that are no longer with us".
"If they do not want us, tell us. If you don't believe in our fight, leave so that we can fight our real enemies. The problem is when we do not know who our enemies are. This was what happened in Permatang Pauh.
"We are cleaning up and getting our records straight."
SAPP
03/09/08
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