Warisan's Sabah govt still intact after another massive political coup attempt - Liew
INTERVIEW | The Warisan-led Sabah state government was hit by another political coup attempt, with more than a dozen assemblypersons allegedly induced to quit their parties.
"This is the second wave. Like the first wave, the move did not shake the state government as we still have 43 assemblypersons out of the 60-elected state assemblypersons.
"(On top of that) we also have five nominated state assemblypersons who are also part of the government. We are intact with more than two-third majority," Warisan chairperson Liew Vui Keong said in an interview with Malaysiakini.
INTERVIEW | The Warisan-led Sabah state government was hit by another political coup attempt, with more than a dozen assemblypersons allegedly induced to quit their parties.
"This is the second wave. Like the first wave, the move did not shake the state government as we still have 43 assemblypersons out of the 60-elected state assemblypersons.
"(On top of that) we also have five nominated state assemblypersons who are also part of the government. We are intact with more than two-third majority," Warisan chairperson Liew Vui Keong said in an interview with Malaysiakini.
"The rumours that Warisan government is going to collapse is absolutely untrue, absolutely nonsense," the former de-factor Law Minister said.
"At least two of our state assemblypersons (who were approached by the other side) had lodged police reports. I hope the police will immediately investigate this 'buying spree' which is illegal and tainted with criminality," he said.
He also urged police to investigate the “agents provocateur and unseen master” behind the alleged scheme.
"The unseen master has to be someone who will benefit from it. It is not difficult for anyone to work out (who is the master)," he said, declining to name the political mastermind.
Earlier, Warisan’s Sepanggar MP Azis Jamman (above) told the Dewan Rakyat his colleagues were receiving text messages from individuals claiming to be agents of “number one”.
Seperately, Gum Gum assemblyperson Arunarsin Taib said he had been contacted 10 times since last month to get him to back former Umno Sabah chief Musa Aman as chief minister.
The Sabah youth and sports assistant minister claimed the going rate to switch sides was RM27 million, not including a “bonus” of RM5 million offered to potential defectors in the state administration.
DAP assemblypersons Jannie Lasimbang (Kapayan) and Calvin Chong (Elopura) yesterday lodged police reports complaining of political agents visiting them at home to entice them to leave their party.
Earlier today, Singapore's Straits Times reported Sabah state government was on the verge of changing government with at least 14 assemblypersons agreed to desert Chief Minister Shafie Apdal.
A source who told ST said the group was waiting for an audience with the state governor.
'Shopping trip in Sabah'
Speculation had been rife that the Sabah state government would fall in July, following an attempt from the Perikatan Nasional side to persuade the lawmakers to quit parties.
There were also reports of tax officers visiting lawmakers' houses, while others were contacted by political agents with offers.
A source close to Pakatan Harapan told Malaysiakini the state government faced a massive attack and survived the political plots, with first blow happening in June, followed by the second in July.
Asked about this in the interview with Malaysiakini, Liew elaborated on what transpired during the first attempt to topple the state government, which took place following the political coup at federal level, dubbed the Sheraton Move.
"Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin (below) said he had a very successful shopping trip in Sabah," he said.
As a result, he said two lawmakers quit their Upko in June.
Liew said he could not envisage that Perikatan Nasional (PN) or BN could return to power in Sabah in the next general election as national factors would come into play in the polls.
According to him, Sabahan deserted BN in the 2018 general election because of the goods and services tax (GST) and the 1MDB scandal linked to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
This time around, Sabahans would balk at the idea of supporting PN because they do not like how the coalition had come into power, he said.
Immigration issue a sticking point
Additionally, Liew believed Sabahans, particular the Kadazandusun Murut communities, may object to the proposal of issuing IMM13 certificates to undocumented migrants.
Last week, Hamzah reportedly mooted the idea of issuing the IMM13 to holders of Burung-burung cards and Census Certificates.
IMM13 is a visitor’s pass issued by the Immigration Department to refugees fleeing the violence in southern Philippines in 1970s, allowing them to live and work in Sabah and Labuan.
The Burung-Burung card was issued by the Sabah Chief Minister’s Department in the 1980s while the census certificate was issued under Nationa Security Councils Federal Special Task Force in the 1990s.
This had led to a growing immigration issue in Sabah, with the Pakatan Harapan government proposing the adoption of the Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS) as a resolution.
Liew said PSS was the reason why Warisan was defeated in the Kimanis by-election in January 2020.
Following the defeat, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Wilfred Madius Tangau mooted to send the refugees to a third country, instead of issuing PSS.
This includes descendants of the refugees, who were born and raised in Sabah, but do not have documents and are identified as undocumented migrants.
Liew noted it is important to identify the migrants, particularly when the country is dealing with Covid-19 pandemic.
One way forward, he said, is to make public the report drafted by the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Sabah on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah, which concluded in 2014.
Only then, he said can the government explore the proposals recommended in the report to resolve the decades-old immigrant issue in Sabah.
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