RED ALERT @ SABAH!!! :ACA URGED TO PROBE SIPITANG UMNO MEETS

Daily Express
August 11,2008, Monday

WT- Saya cuma mampu tersengih, garu kepala dan mengurut dada...(baca: saya juga ahli di bahagian UMNO ini). Saya tunggu dan lihat apa yang akan berlaku seterusnya. But don't expect miracle lah...or solutions will be done `over nite'..

Kota Kinabalu: Sipitang Umno Youth has called on the Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) to investigate the meetings conducted by Umno in the division.

Its chief Haji Osman Ahmed claimed there were elements of corruption, money politics, pressuring and coercion on the party branches.

In a statement Sunday, he alleged there were party branches that were about to conduct their meetings when they were given a list of names that should be nominated for specific posts such as division chief, deputy division chief and vice-chief.

Apart from that, he claimed there were certain people who "arranged for meetings" with party members before the branches held their meetings.

"During the meeting, the branch leader would be given a list of names that must be nominated and when the meeting is conducted, they only need to announce the names in the list provided to them," he said.

He said that such "arrangement" also happened at his branch at Lingkungan Dua, which had its meeting in July 20.

On July 17, three days before the meeting, he said a branch official called for a closed-door meeting where he announced the names that must be nominated during the division meeting.

Osman claimed that forms to apply for projects had been distributed as "bait" so that the branch head would agree to the names in the list.

Such practice was clearly against Clause 5 (Section 5.2.B and C) of the party conduct of ethics regarding political corruption and bribery.

He said what happened at Umno branch meetings in Sipitang were not as rosy as what divisional chief Datuk Sapawi Ahmad described recently.

"All that happened during the branch meetings contradicted his (Sapawi) statement that there was no attempt to stop the branches from making their own nominations," he said.

Osman expressed willingness to cooperate with the ACA, including furnishing the evidences during its investigation.

On other developments, he claimed that only between 30 and 40 per cent of the 288 Sipitang Umno branches had conducted their respective meetings according to correct procedures including recording enough quorum to enable it conduct its meetings.

He received enough nomination to contest for the division deputy chief post but that certain people were making effort to stop him from contesting including by declaring as not valid, the meetings conducted by branches that had nominated him.

"I would not be surprised or hurt if I cannot contest but what's important is honesty and party unity."

"I hope the ACA will investigate the matter for the sake of Umno strength in Sipitang and the party in general," he said.

He said that he did not want Umno to exist only in name but the trust and confidence of party members was eroded.

Osman said he did not want to see the scenario that was happening in the peninsula to happen in Sabah.