POLITICIANS who have betrayed their party before will likely betray again, warned Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman. 

The Kimanis MP said this in an indirect reference to former Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal and several state opposition leaders who turned their backs on the parties that had made them leaders. 

“Now they have betrayed their old party and what makes everyone so sure, they won’t betray again, especially their supporters?” he asked. 

“If I am ever forced to leave my party one day,  I will do it with dignity. I will never be a traitor,” he said during the Kimanis Umno Youth meeting in Bongawan on last night. 

He said Shafie, who is Parti Warisan Sabah president, had changed his tune and was now against Umno. 

Anifah pointed out Warisan was a"Parti Pungut”, formed by leaders who hop from one party to another.

Warisan’s top echelon is formed by former top guns of Sabah’s political scene.

MP Darrel Leiking left PKR to become Warisan’s deputy president, while and Assemblyman, Junz Wong left DAP to become vice-president.

Anifah said Shafie’s political goals have now brought him to Kimanis, a place he never stepped foot on when he was still in Umno and a federal minister. 

“Now he is going around Kimanis, promising residents various amenities and assistance. 

“But what has he done to help the Kimanis folk,” he said. 

Anifah also said Shafie, when still the rural and regional development minister, once made him wait for more than two hours over a RM50 million allocation for projects to aid Kimanis residents.

“What is RM50 million compared with the RM13 billion allocation made to his ministry at the time? 

“I have no quarrel with him, but I thought the request of the Kimanis folk would not be a problem, besides it came from me, a Sabahan and fellow federal minister, personally.”

Anifah said after months of waiting, he eventually realised the funds would never come.

The history of Sabah politics has many instances of leaders switching parties to contest against their former parties. 

Umno Sabah itself was made up of former United Sabah National Organisation (Usno) leaders that was dissolved in 1994.

Other instances are Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) president Joseph Pairin Kitingan was formerly Berjaya, while United Sabah People’s Party (PBRS) president Joseph Kurup was once a PBS lawmaker. United Pasokmomogun Kadazan (Upko) founder Bernard Dompok was also originally from PBS. – July 22, 2017.