KOTA KINABALU: President of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee has categorically denied allegations of his alleged involvement in the recent armed incursion of Lahad Datu by the Filipino militants group.
“I am not involved in any way whatsoever, whether directly or indirectly. I have never met any member of the Kiram clan in Sabah or anywhere else.
“All contacts that I had with the Philippines authorities, the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and MNLF leader Nur Misuari were under the purview of the National Security Council when I was the Sabah Security Committee Chairman (and Chief Minister),” Yong (picture) said.
“Any subsequent contacts that I had later with the Philippine ambassador and officials relate to the presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah, not the Sabah Claim.
“I have already made this clear to the top ranking police officer from Bukit Aman when I was first hauled up for investigation earlier this month.
“I even turned down attempts by a senior official of the Philippine foreign ministry, who was ambassador to Malaysia during my term as Chief Minister, to meet me in the aftermath of the Sulu incursion,” he explained.
He added that due to the sensitive nature of the case and in order not to jeopardise on-going investigations, he had kept this information to himself.
“But when the defence minister publicly made the allegation of a Sabah opposition leader being involved, I am truly concerned that such a false allegation has been laid to discredit and to nail me.
“After all there are not that many Sabah opposition leaders; much less Sabah leaders speaking on the Philippine Sulu incursions and its long term implications,” he said.
He said this while responding to the recent statement by the caretaker defence minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, that three opposition leaders were involved in the Philippine Sulu incursion last February, and one of them is from Sabah.
(PKR’s Penampang candidate Darrel Leiking has since claimed that he is the one that Zahid was hinting, while the two politicians from Kuala Lumpur are Tian Chua and S Sivarasa.)
In a statement issued here Monday, Yong said the defence minister’s “disclosure” has cast a heavy psychological burden on him and that it was indeed very worrying.
“Ever since the irresponsible “startling disclosure” by the defence minister that 3 opposition leaders were involved in the Philippine Sulu incursion last February, several enquiries have been directed at me by people who wonder if the “one Sabah opposition leader” was me.
“Realising how lies and trumped up charges have been used before to discredit opposition leaders, I have every reason to be concerned.
“This is because I have been informed that recently there was indeed a report to the police that I was involved, partly financed and met the leaders of the intruders, including one of the Kiram family, in Kota Kinabalu last year.
“If true, the involvement in the Philippine Sulu incursion is treason against the country and war against the Agong, which is punishable by death,” he said.
The former chief minister of Sabah thus wanted the defence minister to retract the “disclosure” or else to name the “3 opposition leaders”.
“If there is no retraction or identifying the Sabah opposition leader concerned, then I have no choice but to make public my innocence against the false allegations about me and remove all doubts in the minds of the people and the security forces and police.
“This I will do on Wednesday, May 1 evening, although it is already too late for the benefit of the security forces and police who have casted their votes by May 1,” he said.
Contending that it was no coincidence that the defence minister had made the “disclosure” on the eve of postal balloting by the security forces who had to bear the brunt of the Philippine Sulu incursion, Yong charged that the defence minister is guilty of playing politics with national security.
By Victor Ma
No comments:
Post a Comment