Less than 24 hours after Jeli MP Mustapa Mohamed quit Umno, fellow party supreme council member Anifah Aman has thrown in the towel as well.
The former foreign minister said Umno and BN had failed to deliver on promises made in relation to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
"I reached the decision (to resign from Umno) as I once promised my voters in Kimanis and the people of Sabah as a whole that I would resign if Umno and BN failed to keep its promises in relation to MA63.
"I confess that without Umno and BN in power, my struggles will not bear fruit. Even so, I hold true to my promise to resign if my struggles for the people of Sabah, under the umbrella of this party, can no longer be furthered.
"My political struggle has always been clear. I stress that I want the people of Sabah to receive equal treatment (as other citizens) and full rights, without any delays and excuses... MA63 is the beginning point of the formation of the federation we know as Malaysia today," the Kimanis MP said in a statement today.
With his exit, Anifah also vacates his positions as a supreme council member and Kimanis Umno division chief.
Although no longer in Umno, he pledged to continue championing the cause and to serve his constituents.
The Pakatan Harapan government, too, he said, must be committed to ensuring they keep their promises to return the rights of Sabahans and Sarawakians in line with MA63.
Anifah's resignation was reported earlier this morning and was confirmed by his aide.
It follows the shock exit of Mustapa, who had felt Umno was moving away from inclusivity and moderation in its bid to revive itself after its May general election defeat.
The exit of the two leaders brings the number of Umno MPs in the Dewan Rakyat to 49, putting them on par with PKR.
Prior to the exit of Anifah and Mustapa, three other MPs also quit Umno. They were Masjid Tanah MP Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal and Bagan Serai MP Noor Azmi Ghazali.
There is also speculation that more Umno MPs and assemblypersons will resign from the party.
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