I would like to refer to the letter by John Ting titled Sarawak Umno not all bad . In his letter, John Ting spoke favourably on the idea of Umno going to Sarawak. I, however, disagree with John Ting, as I believe Umno's coming to Sabah was a big mistake, and that Sarawak should not allow a repeat of this mistake.

Contrary to John Ting's statement, Kadazandusuns and Muruts find it hard to break the Muslim dominance in Sabah Umno. Most of the Kadazandusuns and Muruts in the Sabah Umno are converts to Islam.

Some examples are Kasitah Gaddam and Masidi Manjun, both Kadazandusuns who became Muslims. I doubt that Sabah Umno will ever be led by a Kadazandusun or Murut who is not a Muslim. Considering the fact that most Kadazandusuns and Muruts are Christians and animists, this is not a very good sign.

John Ting also said that the welfare of the Sarawakian bumiputeras would be well taken care of by Umno. This is a point for debate. Here in Sabah, many non-bumiputeras, immigrants from the Southern Philippines and Indonesia gather under the Umno flag. Some of them even hold top posts in the party.

An example would be Patawari Patawe, a Bugis and Ampung Puyong, a Filipino Muslim. In fact the coming of Umno to Sabah also coincided with the mushrooming of foreign squatter colonies. If you take a walk around these colonies, you shall find Umno flags flying from a few houses. Yes, these are Umno strongholds.

A year after Umno came to Sabah, in 1995, a law was enacted limiting religious freedom. Kadazandusuns and Muruts who are used to converting from one religion to another, found their religious freedom being halted. This could happen in Sarawak too.

The Umno constitution also includes an article which calls for the propagation of Islam. To many Kadazandusuns and Muruts here in Sabah this troubles them. This is because it reminds them of the Usno era, where many Christians and animists were converted to Islam.

The Umno constitution also makes Kadazandusuns and Muruts, who are devout Christians, to be wary of it. Many Christians refuse to join Umno because it is seen as contradicting their faith. With the Dayaks in Sarawak being mostly Christians, I believe the same dilemma will crop up there too.

And finally, ever since Umno came to Sabah, all important decisions regarding the state has to be referred to Kuala Lumpur, including the appointment of the chief minister. Many Sabahans see this as a form of colonialisation. Sarawakians will feel the same too, if Umno goes there.

Umno seems to have taken away what little autonomy Sabah had. This is against the spirit of Malaysia, where Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya merged based on equal partnership.

Therefore I advice Sarawakians to think twice before allowing Umno to set foot in their state. And by the way, Pandikar Amin Mulia is not a Kadazandusun. He is an Iranun, whose ancestors came from the Philippines.