Anifah slams Philippines foreign secretary over 'Sabah not in M'sia' remark
Former foreign minister Anifah Aman has slammed the Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr’s claim that Sabah is not in Malaysia as being a “purely political move” with “no relevance nor weight”.
"I’ve always maintained that we do not recognise and will not entertain any claims by any party on Sabah....
Former foreign minister Anifah Aman has slammed the Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr’s claim that Sabah is not in Malaysia as being a “purely political move” with “no relevance nor weight”.
"I’ve always maintained that we do not recognise and will not entertain any claims by any party on Sabah.
“Sabah is recognised by the United Nations and the international community as part of Malaysia since the formation of the Federation on Sept 16, 1963,” Anifah (above) said in a statement today.
Therefore, he said, statements like the one by Locsin merely exposed the ignorance of history and international law, as well as potentially harming the excellent bilateral relations between Malaysia and the Philippines.
He stressed that claims by the Philippines on Sabah were irrelevant and will not be recognised.
“Any note and anything in relation are irrelevant. Sabah is part of Malaysia and always will be,” Anifah added.
Former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman (above, centre) also said that such claims by the Philippines or others should not be recognised or entertained.
“Sabah is part of the Federation of Malaysia and there is no argument or dispute on this matter.
“I urge the Philippines, including its foreign minister, to stop this type of narrative for its internal political purposes because it is not good for bilateral relations within Asean countries,” he said in a separate statement today.
Musa pointed to the recent High Court case of the Malaysian government v Nurhima Kiram Fornan & Ors, where judge Martin Idang’s decision made it clear that Sabah is part of Malaysia and no other nation has the right or power over its affairs.
He added that Sabahans chose to be and will continue to be part of the Federation of Malaysia as they have been enjoying peace, stability and economic prosperity within the country.
“So let me once again clearly state that we do not recognise nor acknowledge any claims by the Philippines on Sabah,” Musa stressed.
Previously, Locsin (above) had posted on Twitter that Sabah is not a part of Malaysia in response to a tweet by the US Embassy in the Philippines which posted photos of its donation drive to help Filipinos who were repatriated from the state.
“Sabah is not in Malaysia if you want to have anything to do with the Philippines,” he had said.
Following this, Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had responded by calling out Locsin for issuing an “irresponsible statement that affects bilateral ties”.
He added that Wisma Putra will be summoning the Philippines ambassador for an explanation.
