Yong: Who is Hisham trying to fool?

Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein's murky views about the self-proclaimed 'Sulu Sultan' Mohd Akjan Ali is laughable, according to a local Sabah opposition party.

KOTA KINABALU: The Home Ministry has been urged to make public the documents which Mohd Akjan Ali Muhammad claimed to have submitted to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak concerning the dropping of the Sulu Sultanate claim to Sabah.

Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee made this call when commenting on Home Minister Hishamuddin Tun Hussein’s statement that he had ordered a probe into Akjan’s citizenship.

“In one of Akjan’s earlier statements after the fake ‘coronation’, he had alleged that he has documents for the prime minister concerning the dropping of the Sulu Sultanate claim to Sabah.

“I now call on Hishammuddin to reveal to the public what these documents are.

“Do any of the documents have to do with the letters from ex-prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Akjan relating to the Philippine claim to Sabah?

“If there are such documents, it is likely that copies of such documents are already in the hands of the police but the authorities are keeping quiet,” said Yong.

Yong, a former chief minister, also took a swipe at Hishammuddin for saying that he has ordered a probe into Akjan’s citizenship.

“After reading this, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I should laugh because the home minister is telling a joke about the Akjan case.

“Or I should cry because our home minister really thinks Sabahans are fools,” Yong said.

He added that Hishammuddin’s public utterances have damaged public confidence in the government on this case, adding that police have all the records and detailed information about Akjan.

“Not only was he detained under ISA (from 1995 to 1997) for manufacturing fake ICs, his company was later awarded a multi-million ringgit project to build the police field force base in Kinarut about 10 years ago… the then home minister was deputy prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“Three months ago, after the fake coronation as ‘Sultan of Sulu’, Akjan was again detained for investigations. Statements were taken from several people close to Akjan.

“Until recently, Akjan was also a member of Umno, the ruling party of which Hishammuddin is vice-president.

“Does Hishammuddin expect us to believe that he is still in the dark about Akjan’s citizenship, background, activities and history?” he asked.