TUARAN: Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman has a described as a “non issue” a Wikileaks report of the alleged intention of some Barisan Nasional MPs in Sabah to cross over to the opposition on Sept 16 after the 2008 general election.
“No MPs (from Sabah) crossed over or defected to the opposition on Sept 16, 2008…so it’s a non issue,” he told reporters yesterday after attending the Aidilfitri open house of State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor at Dewan Bersatu Tuaran here.
Musa, who is Sabah Umno liaison chief and state BN chairman, was asked to comment on the statement by State Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Tun Said Keruak yesterday, dismissing the Wikileaks report as untrue.
Online portal Malaysiakini reported on Friday that a leaked US embassy cable had lent credence to the claim of Pakatan Rakyat leader Anwar Ibrahim that a group of Sabah and Sarawak politicians had planned to defect from the BN because of alleged marginalisation of the two states.
An entry in the cable, posted by Wikileaks, quoted Salleh as telling US embassy officials that potentially more than half of the 25 Sabah MPs were ready to abandon the BN.
The cable claimed further that embassy officials found “no expressions of support” for then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi among the senior Sabah politicians they met in a series of meetings in the state from June 18 to 20 that year.
Asked on the request from Sabah BN component parties, including the MCA, for more Parliamentary and state seats, Musa said the government would look into it. – Bernama