Kimanis needs a fighter like Karim Bujang, says Shafie

Warisan president Shafie Apdal (right) and the party’s Kimanis by-election candidate, Karim Bujang. (Bernama pic)

KIMANIS: Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal today explained to voters here why they should vote for an MP from the party.

He said Warisan leaders are fighters, unlike Umno’s Mohamad Alamin, who is a follower and does what his party tells him to do.

Shafie said he left Umno as he knew how cruel Umno and Barisan Nasional can be when members defy their top leaders.

“I have been in politics for 32 years and was among the Sabah leaders who had successfully expanded the party in the state … I had made Umno big in Sabah, but they suspended me.

“What did I do wrong? They did not call me up (to explain) but immediately punished me. This is a cruel party,” he said at Bongawan estate today.

Shafie, who was an Umno vice-president at the time, was suspended in 2016 over his remarks on 1MDB implicating then Umno president Najib Razak.

Shafie resigned from Umno in the same year.

He said that instead of being given room to explain or calling to tell him why he had been suspended, many of his former Umno colleagues called him “tidak kenang budi” (not grateful).

According to the Semporna MP, this was among the reasons why he had refused to allow Warisan to join Pakatan Harapan as he knew how coalition politics worked, having been in BN.

With Warisan being PH friendly, Shafie said, he had been able to resolve some of the state’s rights issues as compared to BN-Umno, which had realised nothing despite being in power for over 60 years.

Without a formal partnership, Warisan could be straightforward with the federal government, especially in terms of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and state rights, he said.

“In the one year and nine months in power, Warisan has realised some, although not all, of the areas in MA63.

“For instance, the increase of special revenue rights, although I questioned how Putrajaya came up with the formula, as well as the return of the Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Sabah from the National Security Council,” he said.

Shafie also said that following his discussion with the prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced at the MA63 talks that Sabah must be consulted before the issuance of deep sea fishing licences.

“Of course, as a new government, we asked for time and space, but these are better than a regime that achieved nothing but was in power for more than 50 years,” he said.

Shafie said voting for Mohamad Alamin is also a vote for Umno and PAS – the two parties whose MPs had abstained from voting for the constitutional amendment to make Sabah and Sarawak equal partners with Malaya in the federation of Malaysia. - FMT