KIMANIS: Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman (pic) said he will leave Umno immediately if the Prime Minister fails to fulfil his promise to restore Sabah's rights as specified in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) that had been inadvertently taken away or eroded under successive Prime Ministers."I will not even wait for a day to stay in Umno and I will resign from my ministerial post if the Prime Minister breaks his promise."This will be the answer to those who ask what I will do if the Prime Minister did not keep his promise," he said after officiating an entrepreneurship carnival at SK Kimanis, Saturday.
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Nonetheless, Anifah said he has confidence in the Prime Minister and believes Datuk Seri Najib Razak is a man of his word who would honour the promises.He said he is saying this being among one of those closest to the Prime Minister.
Therefore, he said, it is important for the people to continue giving solid support to Najib's leadership and the Barisan Nasional (BN).Anifah who is also Kimanis MP said such initiative to claim for Sabah rights in the MA63 had long been championed since 2015 including through the MYSabah Group which has shown positive results.
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"I did ask several Sabah leaders together with me to forward the claim of Sabah special rights (in the MA63) to the Government. Unfortunately, none of them were willing to be in the forefront to do so."Therefore, I discussed with those who sincerely wanted to fight for Sabah rights (in the MA63) and together we submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister.
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"I thank the Prime Minister as he did say to me that he will return Sabah's rights that were taken inadvertently and has not been implemented. Hence, I believe in him, that he will materialise his promise," he said.Najib had mentioned about returning Sabah's rights during last year's Malaysia Day celebrations in Sabah and Sarawak as well as in the recent Umno General Assembly in December last year.On whether Sabah would get similar rights like what Sarawak been given on oil and gas, Anifah said Sabah would get what Sarawak had been given recently but that Sabah had a stipulated advantage (in MA63 and Federal Constitution) of getting back the 40 per cent entitlement from Sabah's revenue which Sarawak did not have. It was understood that this was due to insistence by the Sabah side in the run-up to the signing of the Malaysia Agreement.Anifah said Sabah would continue to adopt diplomacy, discussion, dialogue and consultation in its struggle to claim for Sabah rights rather than going for confrontational."Through amicable discussion and two-way communication which run smoothly, I believe soon the Prime Minister will make an important announcement," he said.
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Hence, Anifah said the people should not depend on the opposition to voice out their needs and grouses as the BN leaders can do a better job in serving their aspirations and interests.Also present were Bongawan Assemblyman Datuk Mohamad bin Alamin, SK Kimanis Parent and Teachers Association Chairman Zaini Ag Jair and community leaders. - Hayati Dzulkifli
