Why is Shafie so afraid of Mahathir, says PH candidate

 

Ewon Benedick accused Warisan president Shafie Apdal of not doing enough for Sabah when he was chief minister. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: Former Sabah minister Ewon Benedick has questioned why Warisan president Shafie Apdal deferred decisions on two important issues pending discussions with Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“I don’t know why he was so afraid of Mahathir,” Benedick said in a ceramah  while campaigning for the Penampang parliamentary seat.

He said he had never heard any leader of Sabah Pakatan Harapan being opposed to Sabah reclaiming its right to shared tax revenue, as alleged by Shafie.

“What I did hear was that Shafie, who was chief minister then, said he would discuss the matter with then prime minister Mahathir before making a decision.

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“This happened when Sarawak sued the federal government for the right to levy a 5% sales tax on petroleum products. Sarawak had invited Shafie to join them in the lawsuit but he declined,” Benedick said.

The same thing happened in 2019 after an enactment to impose a 5% sales tax on petroleum products was approved in the state assembly.

He said he asked Shafie why the enactment was not immediately enforced after it was passed and was told that Shafie wanted to discuss the matter with Mahathir first before making a decision.

“He kept delaying until Mahathir resigned in 2020. Only after that he decided to enforce the enactment. I don’t know why he was so afraid of Mahathir,” he said.

Benedick said he was surprised that Shafie chose to attack and slander his former Cabinet ministers over the revenue issue.

He said Warisan had three full ministers in the federal Cabinet and could have done more. Shafie was also a member of various high-level committees and councils at the national level and could have easily fought for Sabah’s rights instead of blaming the PH leaders.

Sabah DAP secretary Phoong Jin Zhe, a former member of Shafie’s Cabinet, accused Shafie of making a low blow against his former colleagues.

“He was the leader of the Sabah government and yet he is blaming them. How can he go that low?” he said.

Shafie had said that his government could have done more in reclaiming the state’s right to a share of tax revenue but PH had refused to support the move because their parties told them not to. - FMT