We are still good friends, Shafie says of Muhyiddin

Shafie Apdal and Muhyiddin Yassin were leaders in Umno before they were suspended and expelled  in June 2016.

SEMPORNA: Chief Minister Shafie Apdal says he still regards Muhyiddin Yassin as a good friend, although they have their political differences and are not in the same government.

Recalling their ups and downs in politics, especially their dark period in Umno in 2016, Shafie said what was certain now was that he himself had stayed consistent in his aim to topple BN and Umno.

“I will remain his friend, he is an old friend of mine,” he said with a smile during an exclusive interview with Bernama at his residence here recently.

He was asked for his comment on the prime minister’s recent statement that he was sad that Shafie, whom Muhyiddin calls a good friend, was not with him in leading the government.

On June 24, 2016, Umno suspended the membership of Shafie and expelled its then deputy president Muhyiddin and Supreme Council member Mukhriz Mahathir. Shafie resigned from Umno 10 days after his suspension.

Shafie, who is Warisan president, said it would be awkward for him and his party to cooperate with a party that had been rejected by the people.

“There is no reason for us to cooperate with a party that has been rejected by the people. Cooperating with the party will cause us to be rejected by the people too,” said Shafie, who is leading Warisan into the 16th Sabah state election.

Asked on claims that Sabah would not be able to develop if the state and federal governments are not on the same page, he said this was a wrong view, citing as examples how previous state administrations led by local parties Berjaya and PBS had cooperated with the BN-led federal government.

He said even at the time, many parts of Sabah districts were left far behind in terms of infrastructure development, healthcare and education.

“Let’s not talk about security in the coastal waters of the east coast. We say this is one area in Malaysia where sovereignty and security are constantly under threat, with its yearly number of robberies and kidnappings far higher than that in other parts of the country,” he said.

Instead, Shafie felt it was time for the state government to work with the federal government on a government-to-government (G2G) basis, without cooperating in the political arena.

He said being parked under a common political umbrella might make it difficult for the state to criticise or voice out problems for fear that its requests for seats and the like might not be met during election time.

“And this is what has happened now. If we just forge (G2G) cooperation without any (political) pact, we will have some freedom to express the voices of the grassroots,” he said.

He added that regardless of who formed the state government, the federal government had a responsibility to ensure the security of Sabah as this was enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

“The federal government collects taxes from Sabah and Sarawak and a big part of its responsibility is to give back in various forms like building schools, safeguarding security, health, and this is stated in the Constitution.

“If they did not do this, we can take them to court,” he said. - FMT