KOTA KINABALU: Warisan President Shafie Apdal should not be making threats against his political opponents in the wake of talks that some of his comrades may jump ship.
It is unbecoming of a president of a party, let alone a Chief Minister to talk like a street gangster, issuing threats and warnings in an attempt to scare off his opponents, Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR President said in a statement.
“He must be feeling the heat or pressure to have responded in such a combative manner when asked about the possibility of a few of his elected representatives ditching the Warisan-DAP-PKR-Upko coalition,” he said.
Shafie was quoted as saying he will not cower in the face of what he described as Perikatan Nasional’s ‘grand plan’ to convince his elected representatives to join the coalition, according to him.
” Why is he visibly upset if his so-called men are solidly behind him?”
More importantly, why is there a need to call for a show of solidarity meeting if the coalition is intact?
The talk around town is that lately Shafie has been calling his ‘Generals’ for meetings till late into the night, Jeffery stressed.
Word also has it that a few member of parliaments are being sequestered for fear of being ‘kidnapped’.
“Is Shafie getting a taste of his own medicine? The master knows his tools best.”
Jeffery said his fear could stem from a not so distant memory when he employed such tactics to lure Barisan Nasional assemblyman and MPs to switch allegiance to topple a democratically elected state government.
Shafie was quoted as saying, “ How can you bribe people with positions and other perks? This should not happen.”
He also said he did not promise (Upko president) Wilfred Madius Tangau and Ewon Benedick with positions before (to switch allegiance from Barisan Nasional which they have won their seats on, to Warisan) although I later appointed them as ministers.”
Seriously, how stupid does Shafie think the people are?
“These days we keep hearing people say let’s call a spade a spade. So let’s.”
Madius Tangau would not have jumped ship if BN won the Federal government in GE14. He only won his Tuaran MP seat and was initially of no value at State-level to Shafie, Jeffery stated.
“He only became bankable after he promised the Warisan President that he can drag 4 other Upko assemblyman to abandon BN.”
Most significant of all, Madius Tangau would not have joined Shafie’s camp if he was not promised a nominated assemblyman seat and made a deputy chief minister, he said adding that as MP, Tangau was not even eligible to be appointed as Assistant Minister let alone as Deputy Chief Minister if Shafie had not rewarded him as a nominated assemblyperson.
“Shafie reportedly also went on a tirade about pressure and political intimidation against his people by the Perikatan Nasional government.”
“He questioned the timing of the money laundering probe by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Warisan’s vice-president Peter Anthony, who is the state infrastructure development minister.”
His memory must be selective because he has conveniently forgotten how after a lengthy period Musa Aman was cleared by the Hong Kong and Malaysian authorities of corruption, the same case suddenly loomed again when Pakatan Harapan came into power, Jeffery opined.
” Worse still the authorities decided to arrest and charge him two days before the verdict of the rightful Sabah Chief Minister case.”
The people should also not forget that multiple charges against Musa appeared overnight just as quickly as the corruption case against Shafie involving RM1.5bil when he was Rural Development Minister was dropped allegedly due to lack of evidence. That case against Shafie should be re-opened now.
Who stood to gain from such a well crafted and executed plan?
Shafie should therefore get off his high horse as he is no position to preach about the evils of promising positions, monetary gains and political intimidation.
It is highly hypocritical of him to talk about values and pride.
He should also not talk about Sabahans not be used as tools. Today, Shafie spends more time getting involved in Federal politics than focusing on reviving the Sabah economy and improving the people’s welfare. So, who is the tool here?
Finally, one must not forget then Musa was sworn in as Chief Minister a day after the May 2018 elections, but was replaced by Shafie two days later.
Shafie was sworn in after several assemblymen from Umno and Upko jumped ship to back Warisan.
Can one honestly say the formation of the Warisan government, the real backdoor government, was done witn pride and dignity or achieved through a Caesar like cloak and dagger move?. – pr/BNN
Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan
