COUSIN AND FORMER AIDE OPENS UP

Razak noticed that Shafie’s thinking began to change about a year before he left Umno. He had been meeting Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and communicating with Tun Daim Zainuddin.

Joceline Tan, The Star

RAZAK Sakaran was being groomed by Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal until things began to fall apart for his former boss and Umno.

Razak, 46, was Shafie’s former political secretary and they are also cousins. But it was adios for them when Razak chose to stay in Umno while Shafie went on to form Parti Warisan Sabah.

“He is my cousin and former boss. I love and respect him, but I cannot join his party,” said Razak.

Besides, Razak’s father, former Sabah Chief Minister Tun Sakaran Dandai, would probably have put his foot down if Razak had tried to do so.

Sakaran, 86, is fiercely loyal to Umno and was very unhappy when Shafie joined the opposition. In his mind, Sabah today is worlds apart from when he was a boy growing up in the impoverished east coast, and he attributes the progress to the ruling coalition.

“He said he felt ashamed for the family. He went to meet the Chief Minister and also the Prime Minister. He told the PM: Shafie is my nephew but I am still here with Umno,” said Razak who accompanied his father to both meetings.

According to Razak, Shafie had been interested in going for a state seat as early as the 2008 general election and the frustration grew when he did not get his wish again in 2013.

“His problems with the PM were not about 1MDB. It was more about the CM post,” he said.

Shortly after retaining the Umno vice-president post for a second term in 2013, Shafie began thinking about where to go next because he could see rising stars like Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir not far behind him. He saw himself as the next Sabah Umno chief and he wanted to end his career as Chief Minister.

Razak told his former boss that it would be tough taking on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman who is superb at policy and implementation and has a complete “football team” with strikers, defenders, mid-fielders and goalie covering the political ground for him.

Shafie has loads of personal charm and many good friends because he is generous and knows how to touch people’s hearts but, as Razak pointed out, he has no “football team”.

That did not go down well and his ex-boss told him: “No need to teach me about politics”.

In one of their discussions, Razak had asked: “Why do you want to do this? Even Anwar (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) could not take on the government.”

Shafie told him it was all about principle.

Razak noticed that Shafie’s thinking began to change about a year before he left Umno. He had been meeting Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and communicating with Tun Daim Zainuddin.

“Then he started attacking the PM in open. At our last event in Kedah, I told him I could not be with him anymore. He asked me to stay, because he is confident of beating Umno. I said I have to stay with my family,” said Razak.

Shafie had also wanted Razak to contest against his brother Datuk Nasir Sakaran who is the Lahad Datu assemblyman after Nasir chose to stay with Umno.

“No way I will go against my own brother, he said.

There is a great deal of sympathy for Shafie but political sentiments are quite split.

“People are waiting to see who is the candidate against Shafie. That will be the decider,” said Razak.

The two family camps were briefly united on the day Shafie’s mother was buried. Razak and his brothers and sisters were there although their father was already on his way to Mecca.

“My father feels strongly about what has happened. I have a feeling he wants to go down to campaign during the election,” said Razak.