KOTA KINABALU, Aug 10 — With aspirations to form the next Sabah government, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said today it is now time for his older brother Tan Sri Musa Aman to retire from politics.

Anifah said Musa had done a good job governing the state for 15 years but his time is over, and it is now pertinent to let younger leaders run the state.

“As a Sabahan I appreciated what Musa has done but I think the time as passed. Let the new people take over. It is time to move on. He has a different era. What he has done was right for that time, that era, but maybe now aspirations are different and people want change.

“I think he has done enough, he has done well for Sabah but I think he should allow the young people to take over,” said the former foreign minister.

Earlier he was asked whether he would be inviting Musa to join his local party Parti Cinta Sabah which would be contesting in a majority of seats in the coming election with the aim of forming government.

The former Umno MP for Kimanis said that he and his brother were on good terms but they did not mix politics with family, pointing out that the Kitingan brothers Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan and Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan were also close but had very differing political ideologies.

“Musa is my brother — I love him — don’t for one moment think any differently but politics is different. Look at Pairin and Dr Jeffrey, they even contest in the same area.

“But there is no need to look at me as his brother. I should be looked at as the leader of a party as whether I can lead or not,” he said.

Anifah admitted that there were several independent assemblymen that were part of the group that recently left the Warisan government to defect and support Musa that approached him to join his platform but he was not receptive.

“No thank you. We do not want people who jump from one party to another. Our stand is not to accept, they will kill me if I accept them. Or we can accept them but they cannot stand as our candidate,” he said.

In the coming state polls, Anifah said that the party was willing to work with other local parties but not the incumbent government Parti Warisan Sabah.

He said voters wish to be represented by a Sabah-based party, causing them to vote Warisan in the last election, but have now realised that the change they want is not forthcoming.

“At the moment we are on our own, so we have the freedom to voice our concerns and issues close to our heart,” he said.

Anifah said his focus would be on getting State rights back under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and claiming back what dues are owned by the federal government.

“I’m pleading with our Peninsula friends including Umno and Bersatu, please let us Sabahans manage our own State. We won’t interfere with other local parties like Usno or PBS and we won’t open up branches in Kedah, Penang or Selangor,” he said.