Parti Bersatu Sabah's controversial re-entry into Barisan Nasional and the fate of Umno leaders suspended for money politics are expected to be the major issues up for discussion at the Umno supreme council meeting on Friday.

PBS, which suddenly abandoned BN in the midst of 1990 general election when its support was needed critically, returned the ruling coalition's fold last month.

Friday will be the first Umno supreme council meeting after the PBS' decision to rejoin BN.

The party's re-entry received mix responses from BN top leaders as many have described PBS as a 'big bad boy of Sabah'.

They urged Umno and other component parties to watch the PBS closely to avoid another surprise pull-out by the Sabah-based party.

"All of us (BN components) must look after this big bad boy (PBS) very closely to stop him from running away from home again," said a source from Umno in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said those familiar with Sabah politics were not surprised by PBS president Joseph Pairin Kitingan's announcement to rejoin BN after defecting from the ruling coalition just days before the 1990 general election.

"Something must be done by the ruling party, especially Umno, to prevent the 1990 tragedy from repeating," he said.

Youth unhappy

The Umno source also said that the fate of suspended Umno divisional leaders would be known at the supreme council meeting.

He said it was learnt that the disciplinary committee had received their explanations recently and party president Dr Mahathir Mohamad is expected to either "give a pardon or stay with the execution".

"Many Umno members predict that Dr Mahathir will not pardon them," he said, adding that it was high time for the party to combat corruption seriously.

The source also said that the supreme council would also discuss Nur Misuari, the former governor of the southern Philippines island of Mindanao who declared war against Manila and then fled to Sabah where he was arrested.

"It appears that Umno Youth is not happy with the government's move in keeping Nur Misuari too long in Malaysia. Many believe that the war in southern Philippines would spread here if Misuari stays," he said.

He added that vice-president Mohd Najib Tun Razak is expected to brief the council on security measures taken by the Defence Ministry to protect Sabah waters from illegal entry by foreigners.

Umno sources also said the progress of Umno's membership campaign would be discussed in the meeting. It appears that the party is still unhappy with the slow recruitment rate even though the party had registered more than two million members.