Anifah slams Shafie as 'ignorant, reckless' on Philippines' Sabah claim

 By Olivia Miwil - August 27, 2020 @ 11:58am

Datuk Seri Anifah Aman (right) hits out at Sabah caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal over his handling of the Philippines' renewed claim over Sabah. -AFP pic

KOTA KINABALU: Former foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman has lambasted Sabah caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal over his handling of the Philippines' renewed claim over Sabah.

Anifah said Manila's latest provocation was caused by Shafie's lack of experience in dealing with foreign issues, leading the Philippines to become bolder in reinstating its claims on Malaysia's easternmost state.

In a statement, Anifah described Shafie's plan to bring the matter to an international arbitration court as akin to "gambling" Sabah's sovereignty.

He said during his tenure as foreign minister, he had never recognised or entertained any claim by any outside party on Sabah.

"During my time as the foreign minister, the Philippines was never this bold.

"This was brought on by the caretaker Chief Minister's recklessness in giving legitimacy to the claim, by wanting to discuss and negotiate with the Philippines.

"This proves how ignorant the caretaker Chief Minister is on our history and international law, as well as what could potentially-harm our sovereignty," he said.

Anifah, who is also the Parti Cinta Sabah president, said that Sabah has been recognised by the United Nations and the international community as part of Malaysia since the formation of the federation on Sept 16, 1963.

He said any claim by the Philippines on Sabah is "irrelevant and should not be recognised."

"If the said arbitration court in Spain made a ruling or judgment in favour of the Philippines, perhaps due to (Shafie's) team and his weakness in defending Sabah's sovereignty, what is he going to do next?

"He might end up, in my opinion, being 'the person that gave Sabah away'.

"His silence on this issue can be deduced as him 'binding his own feet' – he wouldn't want to say anything that would jeopardise this case in the international arbitration court, which he 'gave legitimacy' to," he said, adding that Shafie should take time and learn the language of diplomatic relations.

Otherwise, Anifah asked the caretaker Chief Minister to leave the diplomatic matter to be handled by the proper authorities in order to avoid further blunders with regards to Sabah's sovereignty.