Warisan has been true to Sabah, says Shafie

Warisan president Mohamed Shafie Apdal at the opening of a Warisan branch in Kampung Kelatuan today.

KIMANIS: Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal has rejected accusations that the party had been subservient to Pakatan Harapan and said Warisan had been steadfast about Sabah’s rights.

He said that while the party held to its mission for the return of state rights, it needed to be cooperative with Putrajaya to regain the rights.

He said he had been forward and firm with federal leaders, including the prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in talks on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and state rights.

“Warisan knows that in defending the rights of Sabahans, we need to work closely with Putrajaya.

“He noted that PH leaders – Dr Mahathir Mohamad (PPBM chairman), Anwar Ibrahim (PKR president), Lim Guan Eng (DAP secretary-general) and Mohamad Sabu (Amanah president) – were engaged in the country’s affairs.

“There is no theatrics from us,” he told reporters here after launching the Warisan Kampung Kelatuan branch today.

In his speech earlier Shafie had also noted several instances when he had to be blunt with federal ministers.

He said he had questioned finance minister Lim Guan Eng’s figure of RM53 million for Sabah’s special grant and had asked for a review of the formula.

The grant was raised from RM26.7 million to RM53 million in the second federal budget prepared by Pakatan Harapan, he said, but under the federal constitution, Sabah was entitled to 40% of the revenue from Sabah collected by the federal government .

“I told Tun (Dr Mahathir) that I’ll take the money first as Sabah does not have funds. But I want the formula reviewed. It is impossible that since 1974, the special grant was only RM53 million. It should be more than that,” he said.

He said he was surprised that Sabah received only RM12 million from the tourism tax, although tourism revenue in Sabah ran to billions of ringgit.

Yesterday, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan accused Warisan of being a PH party posing as a Sabah-based party to please the Sabahan voters.

However, Shafie maintained that his struggle was genuine and went beyond family ties.

“Do you think that me defeating my brother, Yusof Apdal, in the 2018 general election is just a drama? I don’t think so,” said Shafie, adding that he had also had to reason with his uncle, former Sabah Head of State Sakaran Dandai, to stand against his cousin, Nasir Sakaran, in 2018.

Shafie also rubbished claims that the Kimanis by-election was a battle between a Malaysia party vs Filipino party, as alleged by Mohamad Hasan.

He said the Warisan leadership comprise a mix of leaders; party deputy president Darell Leiking was a Kadazan and vice-president Peter Anthony was a Dusun.

Shafie noted that BN’s reliance on the politics of race and religion was one reasons that the coalition should cease to exist in Sabah.

Shafie also took a swipe at the opposition over the Temporary Sabah Pass.

He said that the PBS state government of the past had decided to retain the migrants in Sabah and the same policy was adopted by BN when it held the state government.

He maintained that Warisan genuinely wanted to resolve the migrant problem. As MP for Semporna, on the east coast, he knew his constituents faced direct threats from criminals from across the border who carried out kidnap for ransom. - FMT