Bumburing to lead new party?

There is speculation that PKR’s Tamparuli assemblyman Wilfred Bumburing will join another party or form a new one in Sabah in the latest line of Pakatan Rakyat reps ditching their parties.

Previously DAP assemblyman for Luyang, Hiew King Chew, left the party to be pro-government independent. Soon after, Jelani Hamdan (PKR-Matunggong) and Jeremmy Ukoh Malajad (PKR-Kadamaian) followed suit.

Others say the influential Bumburing is taking over Parti Kebangsaan Sabah (PKS), now headed by Bingkor community leader Thomas Anggan.

Bumburing was Upko deputy president before he quit weeks before the last general election in May 2013.

He managed to get PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim’s consent to stand under the party’s ticket even though he refused to become a member.

Some of Bumburing’s men, notably lawyer Maijol Mahap, almost made a giant-killing feat in the Kota Marudu parliamentary seat, losing only by a few hundred votes to PBS deputy president Maximus Ongkili.

Meanwhile, a man in Bumburing’s circle said his boss was in fact approached by PKS and when people heard of this, many joined the party.

“The PKS president had a change of heart and thought that his party can attract more people and thus decided to rescind the offer to Bumburing,” he said.

But many within the Sabah political circle believe that Bumburing would not want to be partyless forever and will join a party or form a new one.

“You can bet Bumburing will soon join a political party. He knows in the next elections, a Sabah-based party will be a good alternative and with the right leaders can even win enough seats to be used as bargaining chip with the bigger parties,” said an observer. -FMT