All five Sabah MPs named by Independent Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Mohamad Hashim as being involved in the opposition’s Sept 16 putsch have furiously denied the allegation.  

The failed putsch refers to Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s reported plan to seize the reins of power in Putrajaya in 2008 through massive defections in Parliament. The catalyst had been expected to come from Sabah and Sarawak, which had emerged as kingmakers after the 2008 general election.  

Controversial Kinabatangan MP Bung Mokhtar Radin, one of the “infamous five”, categorically denied ever discussing crossing over to the opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance.

“I did not ever discuss with Anwar about crossing over to Pakatan,” said Mokhtar. “My politics is with the government of the day.”

bung mokhtar parliament 080708 02 Bung Mokhtar ( left ) dismissed Zahrain’s statement as mere propaganda. He admitted that the former PKR MP’s statement was a bold one since he had implicated the Malay royalty and the security forces as well.

Bung Mokhtar added that he has learned his lessons well and no longer wished to be in the opposition “after having being in the political wilderness for 16 years in Usno (United Sabah National Organisation)”.  

“I joined Umno and worked hard to be in the government (Sabah),” said Mokhtar in reeling off his public record. “Why would I want to ruin everything to join the opposition? I have no intention to jump ship.”

The Kinabatangan MP conceded, without getting into details, that he knew that Zahrain would bring up his name and therefore was able to remain cool when the “disclosure” was made.

“I knew it was coming. So, it was no surprise and I was able to remain cool,” said Bung Mokhtar, who is more noted for getting easily worked up over even trivial statements. “I just smiled when my name was mentioned.”

Bung Mokhtar to tell his side next week

He pledged to tell his side of the story next week in Parliament when he gets a chance “so that the raykat (people) will know the whole truth”.

“I am not afraid to speak up,” said Mokhtar who implied that Zahrain had been misled by Anwar. “This (Zahrain) is a conspiracy by Anwar to condemn others. This will backfire.”

The other MPs named by a surprisingly vocal Zahrain are Foreign Minister Anifah Aman (Umno-Kimanis), Abdul Ghapur Salleh (Umno-Kalabakan), Chua Soon Bui (Sapp-Tawau) and Eric Majimbun (Sapp-Sepanggar).  

sapp chua soon bui eric majimbun 110310 Both Sapp MPs, Chua and Majimbun ( left ), likewise denied that their party quit the BN in anticipation of the putsch. They pointed out that Sapp quit the BN on Sept 17, 2008, one day after the putsch was expected to materialise.

“Sapp quit BN because we lost confidence in the federal leadership to resolve the many problems in Sabah,” said both Chua and Majimbun. “So, it is not true to say that we are part of the MPs defecting to join the Pakatan.”

Chua and Majimbun pointed out that Sapp did not join Pakatan and would not do so “since local problems can only be solved by local parties”.

“BN is not taking Sabah seriously,” charged Majimbun who does not expect Pakatan to be any different.

“The issuance of MyKads to illegal immigrants, economic imbalances, non-compliance with the Malaysia Agreement, Borneisation, and Sabah rights are some of the many issues swept under the carpet.”  

zahrain hashim parliament 180310 Chua said Zahrain ( right ) has been caught in his own web of lies and deceit and pointed out the contradictions in the defecting MP’s statement in Parliament on the purported putsch.

“He’s not qualified to talk about Sabah in Parliament,” said Chua. “He even dare lie about Sapp without knowing our struggle or anything about the state. His statement is nothing less than absolute nonsense and a big insult to Sabahans.”

The Tawau MP added that she had observed Zahrain for some time now and could conclude that “he is just obsessed with his personal greed. He’s desperately looking for a way to explain himself to the people after defecting”.

‘Sapp was part of Sept 16 plan’

Both Anifah and Ghapur could not be immediately contacted. Anifah did not respond to a text message sent to him although it was delivered. The foreign minister is facing a RM100 million defamation suit filed by Anwar in the wake of the Sept 16 fall-out.

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president VK Liew opines that Sapp cannot deny that they were not part of the failed Sept 16 putsch.

“Had Pakatan taken over the federal government, surely Sapp would have been part of it,” said Liew. “So, their leaving the BN after Sept 16 was actually meant to act as a catalyst to prod others into also pulling out from the ruling coalition after the putsch did not materialise.”

Liew drew parallels between the 1994 defections, under the reported direction of Anwar, which brought down the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) government in Sabah and the Sept 16 putsch.

He noted that Sapp had been willing to work with Umno in the 1994 defections to be part of the state government.

“Now they (Sapp) are claiming to champion the autonomy of Sabah,” said Liew. “This is after sleeping on the same bed with Umno.”

Liew dismissed Sapp championing autonomy as an afterthought after finding itself irrelevant in the BN coalition. Sapp is a 1994 breakaway from PBS.