TWO more Sabah Umno leaders have come forward in defence of Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, who allegedly hurled a racial slur against Parti Warisan Sabah president Shafie Apdal at a function earlier this month. 

Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee and Tenom MP Raimie Unggie said they had heard Anifah’s speech, and they did not think it was racist.

“His words… (meant that) he doesn’t care what is the race of the leader who will govern Sabah. More importantly, the person must be a genuine Sabahan. 

“I don’t see anything racist about the phrase ‘genuine Sabahan’. The phrase refers to legitimate citizens and those who are originally from Sabah,” said Ronald in statement today. 

Anifah had allegedly related Shafie’s ancestry to illegal immigrants, and purportedly accused his party of trying to resurrect the Sulu Sultanate’s claim on Sabah.

He allegedly said this during a Chinese New Year function on February 9 in his constituency of Kimanis. 

On February 14, Warisan secretary-general Loretto Padua Jr lodged a police report over Anifah’s speech, and The Malaysian Insight was made to understand that party activists in other districts had also lodged reports. 

Padua said Shafie is contemplating legal action against Anifah. 

On February 20, Anifah’s political secretary, Jihek Basanu, lodged a police report, saying Padua had twisted Anifah’s words that night.

Veteran Umno member Abdul Jalil Abdul Ghani lodged a report against Warisan vice-president Peter Anthony, accusing him of making a racist speech against Anifah in Matunggong on February 14. 
Yesterday, state opposition leader Lajim Ukin advised Shafie to end the racial debate with the Sabah Umno leaders.  

Kiandee said he believed the police report lodged by Padua had a hidden agenda, as a purported video of Anifah’s speech went viral at the same time. 

He said the video being circulated had been doctored to make Anifah look bad, and that there was another video of Anifah at press conference that same night denying that his speech was targeting Shafie, but was about Sabah in general. 

Raimie said he was concerned over the alleged Anifah’s speech that night and was made to understand that the minister’s speech that night was advising voters not to make the wrong choices. 
“When asked during the press conference, Anifah clearly denied his speech was targeting any politician. 

“The action taken by a certain political party is certainly raising a lot of questions and baffling,” said Raimie, referring to the police reports lodged against Anifah. 

He said it was unfortunate that Anifah’s “general reminder” and advice were twisted by certain quarters, adding that Anifah would not do anything to disrupt the harmony in Sabah. – February 23, 2018.