Bung said he respected Rahman’s views on the matter, specifically where the Sabah Umno deputy chairman described it as a needless mistake that only weakened the party’s standing in the state, the Borneo Post reported.

However, Bung maintained that the withdrawal of support for chief minister Hajiji Noor in January 2023 was not his personal call, but a collective decision by the state Umno leadership.

The former deputy chief minister said they had weighed all the implications before agreeing to retract their backing for Hajiji.

“We respect the past, but we are not prisoners of it,” he was quoted as saying.

Bung went on to accuse certain quarters in the media of trying to spin an old issue.

“Let me be clear. Sabah Umno is united, focused and fully committed as one team heading into the coming state election.”

Bung and Rahman have clashed on several occasions over the past few years, including last year after Rahman invited Hajiji to a divisional meeting also attended by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

In March, they traded barbs again over where Rahman may be fielded as a candidate in the state election.

But Bung has played this down to mere “differences in opinion” which he said were a normal process in bolstering the state chapter and have not led to outright division.

In May, Zahid had also warned against factionalism in Sabah Umno, saying internal disputes were among the reasons why the party lost previous general elections.