Bumburing rejects Anwar, mulls own party
Former Upko deputy president Wilfred Bumburing, who won a state seat on a PKR ticket has now decided not to play second fiddle to Sabah PKR.
Luke Rintod, FMT
Former MP and deputy president of UPKO, Wilfred Bumburing, who won a Sabah state seat on a PKR ticket in the recent general election has rejected opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s advice to join the party.
Sources close to Bumburing said the veteran leader is instead weighing an option to lead a state-based party either by joining an existing entity or one that is about to be registered.
A leader close to him, told FMT here today that Sabah PKR leaders aligned to Bumburing too wanted him to join PKR but he has decided otherwise.
“Actually we were expecting our former party UPKO (to join Pakatan Rakyat) but its leaders are now reluctant to leave the Barisan Nasional … not in the near future,” said the leader who asked for anonymity.
According to him that leaves Bumburing with the option to get a party registered before the next general election.
However many in his circle, claim he still harbours the wish to get UPKO leave BN and join the opposition.
Bumburing, he said, does not let party members forget that UPKO could have become the single largest political party after Umno had Dompok listened to him that it ought to leave BN and contest on its own under Pakatan in the last election.
He further claimed that Bumburing too had been advising his staunchest Kadazandusun supporters in Tuaran not to join PKR yet but wait for “a new house they could call their own”.
In the May 5 general election, the former Tuaran MP defeated PBS’ Jahid Jahim, then incumbent Tamparuli assemblyman.
