Warisan info chief defends Shafie on tender allegations brought by Najib
Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal did not cross any line or insisted that some open tenders be made limited tenders during his tenure as the rural development minister, said Warisan information chief Yusof Yacob.
Yusof came to Shafie's defence after the then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak claimed that Shafie often rejected open tenders and wrote to him to appeal rejected tenders.
Najib posted two appeal letters...
Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal did not cross any line or insisted that some open tenders be made limited tenders during his tenure as the rural development minister, said Warisan information chief Yusof Yacob.
Yusof (above) came to Shafie's defence after the then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak claimed that Shafie often rejected open tenders and wrote to him to appeal rejected tenders.
Najib posted two appeal letters on Facebook which were purportedly sent by Shafie on road projects at Batu Pahat, Johor and Penampang, Sabah. Both letters were penned in January 2013 and July 2013 respectively.
Malaysiakini could not verify the authenticity of the two letters. The portal has attempted to contact Shafie for comment.
In his response, Yusof said Shafie's actions were within his capacity as the rural development minister then.
“Shafie had also asked the right person in this matter as Najib was the prime minister at the time. Shafie had done all this in his capacity as a federal minister and out of respect to Najib, who was his former boss," Yusof was quoted by Free Malaysia Today as saying.
He added that Shafie made these appeals on behalf of his followers from Umno who sought his help to convert the tenders to limited tenders.
“Actually, this is a matter between friends who jointly ran the previous government and, therefore, there was no reason to raise it. Such matters are like those between a husband and wife in marriage; both know their strengths and weaknesses.
“It is not good, and it’s immoral, for the wife or husband to expose each other’s flaws to others when going through a divorce. Maybe, one day, either party might consider getting back together," he said.
In July 2015, Shafie was removed from cabinet after being critical of Najib over the 1MDB scandal. He then set up the Sabah-based, Parti Warisan Sabah, and become the chief minister after winning the 2018 general election.
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