A leading Umno corporate figure in Sabah, Ibrahim Menudin, today announced his resignation from the party to support the opposition.

Making the announcement at a ceremony with PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim at Kampung Tanjung Aru, Labuan, Ibrahim declared his allegiance to PKR.

This was confirmed by PKR vice-president Tian Chua in a Twitter posting.

Ibrahim Menudin However when contacted and asked whether Ibrahim would contest, Chua said, “We will see. We will discuss it.”

Ibrahim ( right ), who professed himself as among the early leaders to bring Umno into Sabah, cited endemic corruption as triggering his decision to abandon the party.

He is chairperson of Suria Capital Holdings Berhad whose wholly-owned subsidiary Sabah Ports Sdn Bud, manages all eight ports in the state.

He was also former Sabah Umno treasurer.

Previously, Ibrahim's name had been bandied around when speculation first emerged that an imminent defection was pending in Sabah.

He had also been named in the blogosphere as a potential candidate for the Labuan parliamentary constituency.

Three other major Sabah figures had defected thus far, namely Beaufort MP Lajim Ukin, Tuaran MP Wilfred Bumburing and senator Maijol Mahap.

'Positive mood in Sabah'

Chua said there may be more defections to come as more BN leaders try to leave the party.

“There may be a big (political) earthquake in Sabah. The mood is very different...

“If you look at the response from Umno leaders, they are very cautious and very worried. I think the mood of the people is very high,” he said.

He also claimed that the ceremony-cum-ceramah drew a crowd of about 2,000.