By FMT StaffKOTA KINABALU: A cloak-and-dagger style tussle between two powerful Umno warlords in Sabah has turned into an open “dirty” political duel over “filthy” Semporna.
The intensifying political battle between Chief Minister Musa Aman and Rural and Regional Development Shafie Apdal has turned “dirty” and re-ignited friction between the two camps which has been simmering for awhile.
Labelling the east coast town of Semporna as “filthy” is seen as a politically motivated power play between two.
Both Musa and Shafie want the coveted chief minister's seat. While tycoon Musa is for now firmly entrenched, Shafie is openly yearning for the post for at least once in his political career.
Shafie, an Umno vice-president, is seen to be allied to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak while Musa is hoping to establish himself as Sabah's undisputed warlord.
A brewing storm between these warlords could well deflect Najib's plan to spread his influence in Sabah.
Najib was to have announced the reshuffle following the recent Umno supreme council meeting but for some reason he did not.
While it bought time for Musa, it has however sparked a restless war between the two camps by way of Semporna, which incidentally comes under Shafie's purview.
The flood of bad press coverage over Semporna has greatly embarrassed Shafie.
Competing for credits
In the recent Batu Sapi by-election, both Musa and Shafie took credit for the overwhelming BN victory.
Musa claimed credit as director of the election for Barisan Nasional with ample funds from his war chest, and Shafie for delivering his kinsfolk votes from the Bajau/Suluk “fixed deposit” with resources from his ministry.
But what Musa did not take into account in his battle strategy to stay on top was the spirited response of the Bajau/Suluk Semporna Umno chiefs.
The chiefs took the state government spokesman, State Minister of Tourism and Environment Masidi Manjun, a Muslim Dusun, to task for sullying their town when similar dirty conditions existed in Manjun's own consituency, Ranau.
“Why pick on Semporna... it is no better in Ranau.
"For the record, Semporna has won two cleanliness awards in the past,” said an Umno leader from Semporna.
The leader speculated that the outburst from Masidi was delibrate as he is aligned to Musa.
Masidi rose to prominence after Kasitah Gaddam, another Umno potential chief minister candidate, was arrested for corruption while serving in former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Cabinet.
It was the only high-profile case involving an Umno minister.
Kasitah was seen by Musa as a expendable Sabah sacrificial lamb to make Abdullah's national anti-graft campaign credible.
He was eventually found not guilty but his political career was left in ruins.
Shafie threat
But now, a new threat to Musa has risen in the form of Shafie.
After enjoying close ties with Abdullah, Musa has not had the same luck with Najib, who has kept him at arm's length.
On the sideline is another Umno potential chief ministerial candidate, State Minister of Local Government and Housing, Hajiji Noor.
He has tried to defuse the tensed situation by issuing a gag order to stop further mudslinging by rival camps.
Hajiji is the man who defeated current Tuaran division PKR leader Ansari Abdullah for the Sulaman state constituency during the last elelction.
Also on the list of potential candidate for the chief minister's post is Rahim Ismail. Rahim is not in the Musa camp.
On the last day of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly sitting last month, Musa blasted Rahim for not being around to listen to his (Musa's) explanation on the bonds issue undertaken by the state government.
Rahim, who was dropped from the state Cabinet after the last state election, queried the state government about the controversial bonds issue which had been marked as revenue in the state's Budget 2011.
Musa was also humiliated after the media highlighted the World Bank’s report on the poverty situation in Sabah.
Shafie rubbed it in by urging the state government to accept the report objectively instead of downplaying or refuting it.
Shafie’s kinsfolk form the bulk of the poor in Sabah.
Much of the bad blood between Musa and Shafie stems from the refusal of Shafie's ministry to hand over its funds for Sabah to Musa's state government.
No comments:
Post a Comment