Chief Minister and Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal with Warisan candidate Datuk Karim Bujang, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew, Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Peter Anthony and others during campaigning for the by-election in Bongawan yesterday. -Bernama photo
KIMANIS: Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal was upset with the insinuation of Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan that he is a migrant from the Philippines.
The Warisan president is demanding an apology from Mohamad for making the sinister statement or he will take legal action against him.
“I’m going to verify his statement before taking action. I was made to understand that Mohamad said this by-election is about Malaysia vs Philippines. This is very sinister.
“He implies that I’m a Filipino? How can I be a Filipino? I’m a Sabahan. I’m a Malaysian. How did I become a deputy defence minister? How did my uncle become a governor? How can I serve the country for over 30 years? Please don’t question my ancestry,” he told reporters at a Christmas and New Year celebration at Kuala Pus/Bongawan Estate here yesterday.
Shafie said his ancestors had been in Sabah since the 1700s and thus, his family, including himself, are genuine Sabahans and Malaysians.
Shafie said Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) should not have used race and religion to fish for votes.
On the first day of campaign, Mohamad said he was informed that the Kimanis by-election was a Malaysia vs Philippines contest.
Meanwhile, Shafie is unperturbed by the potential partnership formed by BN, former Kimanis MP Datuk Anifah Aman, Star Sabah and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) in the opposition’s pursuit to win the Kimanis by-election.
He said that his party had toppled BN and its allies before and there is no reason why they cannot repeat the same success in Kimanis.
“Not to sound too arrogant but we fought against them during the past election. They were so united then and now they are divided. Some of their members are now already in Bersatu while some are in PKR.
“When they were so united, we defeated them. Don’t tell me that we can’t challenge them now and defeat them (again)?” said the Chief Minister when met during a Christmas and New Year’s celebration here at Kuala Pus/Bongawan Estate on Tuesday.
On Monday, Sabah Umno chief Datuk Bung Moktar Radin said that BN would be seeking help from the other Sabah-based opposition parties for its campaign.
Bung pointed out that PBS and Star had decided to stay out of the by-election in order to help BN secure a victory, adding that Anifah would also be coming down to Kimanis to assist BN.
In this regard, Shafie said that BN is free to form any ‘muafakat’ with any party.
“I’m sure that Sabahans are not stupid. They know what they want,” stressed Shafie.
He asserted that the Kimanis by-election is not a place for personal attacks; instead, it is a platform for the respective parties to voice their policies.
On Bung’s recent claim that the BN candidate, Datuk Mohamad Alamin was barred from entering one of the District Polling Centres, Shafie said that Bung should provide evidence for his allegation.