“The action by Sarawak’s chief minister is not a good thing, and I am very concerned it could invite foreign interference,” said Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub.
“Why is Sarawak taking this attitude after so many decades? Is it meant as a swipe at the administration of Datuk Seri Najib Razak?” he asked during a media conference at Amanah’s headquarters here today.
He was commenting on Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg’s announcement on June 30 on the formation of the legal team to go to London.
The team would be led by state assistant minister for law, federal-state relations and project monitoring, Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali.
Abang Johari did not disclose when the team would leave for London and how long the lawyers would be there.
Salahuddin said he worried Sarawak’s action would harm relations between the state government and Putrajaya.
“The anti-peninsula issue became very heated during the last state election campaign.
“If this issue had been highlighted by the opposition, we would surely have been slapped with various laws but it was brought up by the state government itself.
“We (Amanah) don’t want the anti-peninsula issue to continue to spread, and we hope the federal government will restore the legitimate rights of Sarawak and Sabah,” he said.