Bung warned that any attempt to sideline him would jeopardise the party’s revival in Sabah.

“If you remove me, Umno Sabah will shut down,” said the six-term Kinabatangan MP in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday.

Often characterised in national politics by his brash style, Bung insisted he had done the heavy lifting to restore Umno’s footing in Sabah after the party’s collapse in 2018, when many of its elected representatives and leaders left to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

“Before the exodus, we had around 530,000 members. It dropped to 400,000 after the 2018 crisis. Today, it’s 615,000. That’s what I’ve rebuilt in seven years,” he said when speaking to Malay Mail recently.

He said he had initially been reluctant to take the helm, but agreed on the condition that he would be allowed to lead without interference.

“I told the president — if I do this, you have to trust me,” he said, referring to Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Bung said he has faced stiff resistance within the party, including from former Sabah Umno chief Tun Musa Aman, now the state governor, and other factions uneasy with his ties to opposition leader Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.

Both were alleged to be involved in the failed “Kinabalu Move” in 2023 — an attempt to unseat Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

Bung also addressed his strained relationship with his deputy, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who is seen as more aligned with the GRS-led government having been appointed to the board of University Malaysia Sabah and chairman of the Sabah Oil and Gas Development Corporation.

“We’ve spoken. I think it’s settled for now. I trust he will act in the party’s interest.”