Anifah playing on words to discredit Shafie, says Warisan man

 

Former foreign minister Anifah Aman said Shafie Apdal, when chief minister of Sabah, had been “reckless” in his response to a Phlippines claim.

KOTA KINABALU: A Warisan leader, defending party president Shafie Apdal over the Philippines claim to Sabah, has accused a former foreign minister of twisting words to discredit Shafie.

Azis Jamman said Shafie, as Sabah chief minister, had never recognised the Philippines claim but had instead directed Putrajaya to take Manila’s claim seriously.

“Is asking Putrajaya to hold diplomatic discussions with the Philippines government to drop the claim tantamount to recognising the claim?” he said, accusing former foreign minister Anifah Aman of trying to misrepresent the term ‘discussions’ to blame Shafie.

Yesterday, Anifah had said that Shafie’s lack of experience and know-how had encouraged the Philippines to become braver with its territorial claim on Sabah two years ago.

Azis said Anifah should comprehend that “discussion” and “recognition” were two different things.

He accused Anifah of failing to resolve the issue during his tenure as foreign minister, and also accused him of spending too much time overseas. - FMT