KOTA KINABALU, Aug 5 – Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman (photo) is optimistic that Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman will receive strong backing from Sabah Umno should he decide to run for one of the three posts of Umno vice-president in the party elections in October.
“I believe if the chief minister wants to go for a vice-president post, I am very sure he will get strong support from Sabah,” he told reporters after attending a breaking-of-fast function organised by his ministry, here, last night.
Anifah, the younger brother of Musa, was asked to comment on Sabah Umno liaison deputy chief Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak’s statement on Saturday that Musa was the right choice from the state to vie for one of the three vice-president posts.
Salleh was quoted as saying that Musa, who is state Umno liaison chief and state Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, was a visionary and experienced leader with good leadership qualities.
“Everybody has his or her opinion but I don’t thing everyone in the party has the right to contest.
“At the end of the day, the chief minister will make a decision — what is best for the party and what is best for the people,” said Anifah, who is chief of the Kimanis Umno Division.
In the recent 13th general election, Sabah BN, spearheaded by Musa, retained the state with a two-third majority by winning 48 of the 60 state seats. The state BN also won 22 of the 25 parliamentary seats in Sabah to contribute to the formation of the BN government at the federal level.
Asked whether he would contest a post in the Umno supreme council, Anifah said he would probably not because he would find it difficult to divide his time between being a cabinet minister and attending to party affairs.
He also said that he was unsure whether to defend the post of Kimanis Umno Division chief.
– BERNAMA
