Speaking to FMT today, Saddi who is in his third term as the assemblyman in the east coast constituency, said he took the decision after considering the current political scenario and the repercussions the people in his area would face if he remained an out-and-out opposition member in the state legislative assembly.

“This is not an easy decision for me to take. I will remain an opposition member but instead of a fiery opposition, I will be a constructive one to provide the ‘checks and balances’ to the current government.”

He said as a Sabahan, he would support any local party that fought for Sabah rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), including the right to a fair distribution of royalties of Sabah’s oil and gas.

This, he said, would go a long way in giving Sabahans the prosperity they deserved after being marginalised for so long by the federal government.

“I would like to thank former Umno president Najib Razak and former Sabah Umno liaison chief Musa Aman for the trust they put in me and the opportunity to serve the people in my constituency since 2008 to this day.”

Asked why he only took the decision to leave Umno now, Saddi said he wanted to leave Umno earlier but did not do so as he did not want to be seen as an opportunist, or worse, a “frog”.

“But now, the dust has settled, all the positions have been filled. If I leave now, nobody can accuse me of being a ‘frog’. I leave on my own accord and without any pressure from anybody,” he said.

Saddi insisted that he had not given any thought on whether or not to join any party at the moment and would only decide later.

Saddi retained his Sukau seat in the May 9 general election albeit with a much smaller majority of 1,628 votes, beating closest contender Ismail Ayub from Parti Warisan Sabah.

Previously in the 2013 state election, Saddi retained the seat with a 4,419 majority.