Luyang rep: Sabah faced three coup attempts, Shafie stopped first two

A Sabah elected representative has claimed that former chief minister Musa Aman initiated three coup attempts in order to wrest power from the Warisan-led state government.

Luyang assemblyperson Phoong Jin Zhe (above) revealed that incumbent Chief Minister Shafie Apdal managed to block the previous two attempts, but eventually failed to stop the final one that caused him to dissolve the state assembly.

As a result, Shafie had to call for snap polls, he said. 

In an online forum last night, the Sabah youth and sports minister said that since the Pakatan Harapan federal government collapsed in February, Sabah assemblypersons from Warisan and Harapan began receiving offers to switch sides.

He pointed out that when Shafie was nominated as the prime minister candidate of Harapan Plus, Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders pushed to take over the Sabah state government.

Phoong said Shafie managed to stop two bids to get lawmakers to defect but when the Warisan president emerged as one of the PM candidates, the coup attempt became more aggressive.

“Since the federal government had a change of power on March 1, there were people trying to intervene in Sabah's politics, they tried to form a new state government.” 

He explained that the attempts were halted during the movement control order period brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, but when it was relaxed, the defection rumours resumed. 

“In fact, there were three rounds of party-hopping attempts, Shafie managed to stop the previous two.

“Unfortunately, during the third round, Musa managed to gain enough assemblypersons (to form a new government), it was a hung situation,” he added. 

PN afraid of Sabah becoming 'rebellious'

Phoong said the country's political development caused the instability in Sabah and was closely linked to the issue of who would become the PM candidate of Harapan Plus should it regain control of Putrajaya.

“(PKR president) Anwar Ibrahim was unable to gain enough support in the past few months, so Harapan, especially DAP, suggested an alternative with Shafie as the PM candidate.”

This proposal, he said, got on PN’s nerves and made them worried that Harapan would gain more power in Sabah.

“(It) led to a sense of urgency among PN and BN politicians to bring down the Sabah state government.

“They knew that if they did not handle Sabah and Shafie now, the two would become an important asset for Harapan.

“From Shafie's nomination to the collapse of the Sabah government happening within just one month, we can see the connection,” he added. 

Phoong was attending an online forum on the Sabah snap polls organised by KLSCAH Youth and Selangor Hokkien Association Youth Section. 

Sabah situation a result of national politics

Another panellist on the forum, James Chin, said that Sabah had experienced a political change in almost every 10 years.

However, the director of the Asia Institute Tasmania pointed out that the current political crisis, unlike the previous ones, was a result of national political events.

“All the previous political crises started in Sabah. Of course, federal people got involved, but they were not really affected by the federal issues.

“(But) this time the political crisis started in Kuala Lumpur, because of the change of (federal government) in February,” he said. 

James claimed that the “stakes are high” for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin who is facing a power tussle with Umno. 

“The stakes are high for Muhyiddin, because there is a power tussle between Bersatu and Umno.

“It is to his advantage to take down Warisan and instal a government in Sabah which is friendly to him,” he added. 

James further stated that as Muhyiddin has the support of GPS in Sarawak, if he can bring Sabah into his orbit, he doesn’t need to worry about the political situation in East Malaysia.

'Shafie values camaraderie'

Since the Sheraton Move, Warisan faced pressure within the party and from outside forces which had pushed them to discuss whether they should join PN, Phoong revealed.

“There was a discussion within Warisan on whether they should lean towards PN in exchange for resources and stability.

“If they did so, maybe today’s situation would not have happened,” he added. 

Phoong described Shafie as someone who values "camaraderie" as he decided to stick with Harapan despite the political situation.

“Working with Shafie for two years, I think he is someone who cares about comradeship. 

“We were in the same alliance against BN during the last election, Shafie left Umno and brought out the 1MBD issue involving former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

“So Shafie is more comfortable to cooperate with Harapan and you could see that during the motion to remove the Parliament speaker. Harapan had 109 votes, this is why the Harapan Plus formula works,” he said. 

Disagree to unifying logo

During the forum, host Lau Yi Leong asked whether Sabah DAP would consider Amanah Youth’s proposal to unite by using the Warisan logo in the upcoming state polls.

Phoong replied by saying that they will consider proposals openly, however, he thinks there is no need to use the Warisan logo as a unifying symbol at this stage.

“For now, we are still discussing whether it is necessary.

“During the last election, unifying a logo created a force. But I think the current formula still works,” he added. 

He said DAP had been working hard in Sabah and the electorates recognise the party's logo, which can’t be equated with Amanah.

DAP had been putting in effort in Sabah since 1978 and in 1986, it managed to win four parliamentary seats in the state. In 2018, they won three parliamentary and seven state seats.

“DAP’s logo is not only known by voters in the cities but also in rural areas,” Phoong said.

“Amanah is quite different, they are a new party and they don’t have much cultivation in Sabah,” he added. - Mkini