'Bersatu entering Sabah to break Shafie's dominance'

Bersatu's entry into Sabah is aimed at weakening Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal's grip on power in the state, according to Umno supreme council member Tajuddin Abdul Rahman. 

Tajuddin said that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who chairs Bersatu, is known for his "divide and rule" strategy.

"So now Bersatu enters Sabah with an intention to divide (the ruling coalition).

"Mahathir doesn't want the Sabah chief minister and Warisan president Shafie to be dominant (in the state)," he told reporters today in Bukit Mahkota, Semenyih.

Tajuddin said he foresees Warisan and Bersatu jostling for control of the East Malaysian state.

The Pasir Salak MP was also asked about Mahathir insisting that PAS would not back Umno in the upcoming Semenyih by-election.

He claimed that it is a plot from the premier to tarnish the growing cooperation between PAS and Umno so that the Selangor seat would not fall into opposition hands. 

At present, Warisan holds nearly half of the 60 seats in the Sabah Legislative Assembly. 

The party controls the state government, along with Pakatan Harapan allies DAP and PKR, as well as the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko).

'Racist DAP'

Meanwhile, Tajuddin also took aim at DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, calling him racist for saying that the party would campaign in the Malay areas of Semenyih if called upon to do so.

"He is a racist, as he has always been," he said, adding that Malays may no longer trust the finance minister following the 'fake degree' controversy dogging the Harapan cabinet.

"The Chinese community will still support him because he is Chinese. Why do the Chinese have to support another Chinese (person)?

"We want the Chinese to support our candidates just like before, many Chinese supported BN and never talked about race," he said. 

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