Speaking to reporters after attending the Sabah Hope Centre Chinese New Year event here yesterday, Shafie confirmed Warisan will definitely bring Anifah to court once the party determines the amount of cost it will seek.
“How can people of that standing, being a foreign minister, a cabinet member openly say that I am a foreigner? It cannot be,” he said.
At least three police reports have been lodged by the party against Anifah over what it claimed were insinuations by the Kimanis MP that Warisan is a party of pirates out to claim their ancestral rights to the state.
Anifah’s speech was allegedly made at a recent event with the Chinese community from Kimanis at a hotel here prior to the Chinese New Year holiday.
In the recording of the speech purportedly made by Anifah, he is seen telling the group of people that Sabahans should choose only “genuine” Sabahans to become chief minister, a statement which Warisan understood to imply that Shafie is not considered a genuine Sabahan.
Expressing his frustration at how the issue has played out so far, Shafie however, said the whole fiasco was caused by Anifah anyway.
“They were the ones who started it, when it is clearly spelt out under the state constitution who are the natives of Sabah.
“Bajau is one of the races and I come from that ethnic group,” he said.
In January, Shafie had questioned why his political foes were making such a big deal about his race when past chief ministers with a similar background never had any problem.
Shafie, who is of Bajau descent and from Semporna in Sabah’s east coast, said he was tired of people playing race politics and using scare tactics by mocking Warisan’s party logo, which features a sailboat, as representing a pirate ship.
“I want to stress that Warisan is a multiracial party and it is open to all Sabahans. Some parties may say we need to label parties according to races. But I think, we have to cultivate the feelings of brotherhood and unity among the multiracial people.
“If we do not have too many attachments to our races, I believe we can solve lots of problems,” he said.
He further warned Barisan Nasional, particularly Umno, that a new tsunami is coming that could put an end to their rule in Sabah.
“Previously, we had PKR and DAP as multiracial parties but they are national-based. Now we have Warisan, which is represented by all races. I believe this new wave will replicate the Pakatan Harapan tsunami in the peninsula with added force in Sabah through Warisan,” he said.
Also present at the event were PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Sabah PH chairperson Christina Liew and representatives from Sabah DAP and Sabah Amanah.