Rahman Dahlan
KOTA KINABALU: Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan has resigned as Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s (UMS) Board of Directors chairman.
Abdul Rahman made the announcement on his social media accounts on Saturday afternoon.
The Umno Tuaran chief said his resignation takes immediate effect.
“First of all, I would like to thank the former Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad, for giving me the opportunity to serve as the chairman of the Board of Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
“However, in line with the decision made by the Umno Supreme Council on 3 August 2021, I, as a member of the Umno Supreme Council loyally abide by the decision of this party.
“Therefore, I resign as the chairman of the Board of Universiti Malaysia Sabah with immediate effect,” Abdul Rahman said.
He added that Umno is a party that supports the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as enshrined in Article 3 of Umno’s constitution.
“I would like to thank all the staff of Universiti Malaysia Sabah for their good cooperation throughout my service at the university,” he said.
Abdul Rahman is the latest Umno leader to step down from a government-appointed post following the decision of the party to withdraw support for the Perikatan Nasional-led government.
The former federal minister was appointed to the board in February.
Noraini resigned on Friday on similar grounds, following Shamsul Anuar Nasarah’s resignation as the Energy and Natural Resources Minister on Tuesday, both citing their loyalty to Umno.
In Penang, Balik Pulau Umno division chief Datuk Shah Headan Ayoob Hussain Shah also announced his resignation as a member of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) board of directors and as UPM Holdings Sdn Bhd director with immediate effect.
Shah Headan who was the former assemblyman of Teluk Bahang (Penang) said his decision followed central Umno’s decision to withdraw its support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
“I take the responsibility as a party member to continue to abide by and respect any decision and ruling of the party. This decision was made on my volition and not under duress, ” he said on Saturday.
Earlier, Shah Headan uploaded his resignation letter dated Friday on his Facebook page which was addressed to Noraini.
Over the last few days, three other Umno leaders had resigned from their appointed positions in several government-linked companies.
They included party vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin who stepped down as the chairman of Boustead Holdings Bhd, and Sabah Umno Youth chief Abdul Aziz Julkarnain, who quit as Boustead independent and non-executive director.
Umno Supreme Council member Razlan Rafii had also stepped down from his government-appointed post as a Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera board member.