Shafie hopes Bersatu will keep its word not to enter Sabah
SEMPORNA: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal is hoping that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) will not spread its wings to Sabah.
Shafie, who is also Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) president, said this was because the top leadership of both parties, including Prime Minister and Bersatu chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had agreed that Bersatu should stay away.
“We have a collaborative agreement with Bersatu, and hope it remains. Both parties are like siblings,” he said on a statement by former Sabah Umno chairman Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor that Bersatu was expected to move into the state very soon.
Shafie said this after distributing mandarin oranges during a walkabout in conjunction with Chinese New Year here yesterday.
Shafie, who is Semporna member of parliament, said although Bersatu was a Malay and Bumiputera party, the DAP-PKR coalition government also received majority support from the people in the last general election.
“We won many parliamentary and state assembly seats, thus proving we can cooperate with one another.”
Shafie also dismissed talk that the appointment of chieftains and community leaders is monopolised by certain races, saying the matter did not arise because each appointed person had their respective qualifications and advantages.
“We should not play the race card because it can divide the community. There are individuals who have been appointed in the area because they have been living there for more than 40 years. The more important thing is that they are able to offer the best services and foster racial unity,” he said.