Najib says Philippines feared to claim Sabah when BN was in charge
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NAJIB Razak boasted yesterday that the Philippines had never attempted to claim Sabah when Barisan Nasional was in power.
He was taking a jab at caretaker Sabah chief minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, who had come under fire for saying that the two governments should meet to resolve the claim.
The claim is a hot-button topic in the elections in Sabah, where residents have for decades complained of being flooded with Filipino migrants.
However, media reports from January 2018 revealed the issue of Sabah’s status had been brought up when Najib was prime minister.
Najib last night said the Philippines did not dare to claim Sabah as its territory when BN was in charge “because they (the Filipino government) respected us. Maybe they feared us”.
Najib was addressing a crowd at a BN rally in the Tg Aru constituency.
“Under BN we helped solve problems in the Philippines when its government was at war with the Moro rebels,” said Najib, who was involved in talks between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Putrajaya has ruled out any negotiations with Manila over the latter’s claim to Sabah, which Malaysia does not recognise.
“This is an issue that is not contested anymore. Even the United Nations has recognised that Sabah is part of Malaysia because in 1962, Sabah chose to be a part of Malaysia,” Najib said.
“So why bring this up again? I am puzzled as to why a Sabahan has brought the issue up.”
Najib said the Filipino government respected BN because the latter had helped it reach a settlement with the MILF.
Under BN, Malaysia was at the height of its powers because it was successfully managed, said Najib, who was found guilty last month of seven counts of power abuse and money-laundering.
“Under BN, Sabah’s status, its sovereignty is non-negotiable. Whoever wants to contest this claim will have to walk over our dead bodies.” – September 19, 2020.