KOTA KINABALU — Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said today he is unperturbed by any threats from the state opposition to topple the government, but will not tolerate any efforts to create chaos within the state.
Shafie, who raised his eyebrows at the acquittal of former chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman against 46 graft charges yesterday said that the state government still had a big majority in the state assembly and is solid.
“We still have the majority. What tools will they be using? We can’t stop them as politicians, they have a lot of money to buy (sic). So they can entice our people with money and posts, but don’t tell me the MACC won’t notice.
“I know our people are facing harassment; but I believe we are all solid,” he said.
Shafie said that there was efforts being made to buy off state assemblyman and MPs, but said it was his policy to remain steadfast to the political cause.
He also pointed out that the investigation on State Infrastructure Development minister Datuk Peter Anthony was on suspicious timing because it was a previous case but said it would only be fair to cooperate with the investigation and let the law run its course.
“But what about other cases that are blatant? The Water Department where billions of ringgit were found, what about that?” he said.
He warned dissenters not to create chaos at the expense of public order and peace.
“Don’t turn the state upside down. You want to create chaos, you want to fight? I’ll fight you guys,” he said.
The state government has been fending off rumours of a toppling following a change of state governments in West Malaysia after Perikatan Nasional took over from Pakatan Harapan earlier this year.
Shafie said that the state and country was facing enough problems handling the Covid 19 pandemic and now had to worry about the political issues.
“We just want to run the state and country properly,” he said. MALAY MAIL
Political observers here are expecting Musa to strengthen his position within Sabah Umno and woo back former Barisan Nasional defectors in his bid to oust Shafie, who is Parti Warisan Sabah president.
“Many things will happen within the month. You will see surprises. Just wait,” said Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
Bung Moktar admitted that discussions were ongoing between Sabah Umno and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Sabah Bersatu) on the possibility of strengthening their numbers against Warisan. He declined to elaborate.
He was responding to political talk of the return of former Sabah Barisan and Umno assemblymen who quit to join Warisan after the May 2018 general election that saw Musa ousted hardly 48 hours after he was sworn in as chief minister.
Warisan and its partners now hold 47 state seats (including five nominated assemblymen) in the 65-member state assembly.
The combined 17 Opposition seats belong to Sabah Bersatu (nine seats), Parti Bersatu Sabah (four), Sabah STAR (three) and Sabah Umno (one).
One nominated assemblyman left PKR to become an independent.
The 69-year-old Musa is seen as the main political figure in Sabah to provide the much needed leadership for the Opposition in their bid to snatch back power from the Warisan-led state government.
Local political commentator Rahezzal Shah said the Opposition was in desperate need of a strong leadership to mount an attack against Warisan.
“The state Opposition hasn’t got that type of leadership since Musa decided to take a back seat,” he said, adding that the burden of charges had forced him to keep a low profile.
Rahezzal said Musa could now play a major role for the Opposition to push for a change after the burden of court cases has been lifted off his shoulders.
Helping him are the voices of discontent growing against Warisan, which was friendly to the previous Pakatan Harapan federal government.
“All these will provide the best opportunity for Bersatu, Umno and Musa to fight Warisan,” he added.
Rahezzal said Warisan was in a comfortable position with 47 seats at the moment, and they would definitely thwart any move by the state Opposition parties to remove it.
But he warned that it would only take a few people to cross over to change things.
He added that there was discontent among some ranks of Warisan, especially following the appointment of Datuk Aziz Jamman as chairman of state GLC Warisan Harta and Datuk Jaujan Sambukong as Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia) deputy chairman.
He said elected representatives not given positions might use this as a reason to leave Warisan. – ANN
MALAY MAIL / ANN
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