ARMY DAY: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (second left) together with (from left) Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Hishammuddin witness the parade at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Ministry will cooperate with the Home Ministry to identify instigators who want Sabah to withdraw from Malaysia, said its minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
He said the group which had openly carried out their movement for the past few years and quietened during the intrusion in Lahad Datu, Sabah earlier this year, are now active again.
“Now when it’s peaceful again these people who went into hiding during the intrusion have started to make themselves heard again, saying Sabah is for Sabahans,” he told reporters after attending a parade in conjunction with the 80th Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) Day at Dataran Merdeka, here yesterday.
Hishammuddin said this when asked about attempts made through Facebook and the social media to instigate hatred among Sabah residents towards Peninsular Malaysia.
“They want to make the Peninsular and Sabah into a polemic, and by politicising a situation, I would like to state that in the context of public peace and national sovereignty, we do not discriminate and are always consistent with our responsibilities,” he said.
“Any quarter that wants Sabah out (of Malaysia) needs to see that those people sacrificed and killed (while defending the country from Sulu terrorists) are police and soldiers from the peninsula as well as Sabah and Sarawak, meaning we don’t choose responsibility based on skin colour and descent,” he said.
The intrusion in Sabah was a wake up call for all, including Sabah residents, whereby it reminded Sabahans to continue to unite and give full support to the government as well as give information to the army and police, he said.
Touching on the government’s decision not to allow the remains or ashes of former Communist Party of Malaysia leader Chin Peng into the country, Hishammuddin said it was also supported by ex-servicemen and police who had defended the country during the Emergency era.
“I would like to say here that in their excitement to play up this issue, let’s not forget history and ask veterans or family members who had shed tears and blood to protect the country,” he said.
He said Chin Peng had even been given the opportunity to apply for citizenship between 1989 and 1990, but he refused. — Bernama