Two Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS) leaders have slammed Warisan president Shafie Apdal for equating Malaysia’s humanitarian aid to Gaza with Sabah’s long-standing issue of undocumented migrants.
PGRS vice-president Masiung Banah and the party’s Tambunan division chief Victor Paul Paut described Shafie’s remarks on the matter as shallow and misleading.
Masiung said that as a former chief minister, Shafie should know better than to confuse a humanitarian issue with one of state security and sovereignty.
He said Malaysia’s aid to Gaza was based on humanitarian values and international solidarity, not matters of politics or citizenship.
“Sabah’s issue, on the other hand, concerns security, sovereignty, and the well-being of local residents affected by the influx of undocumented foreigners.
“Equating these two completely different matters only confuses the public and reflects the muddled thinking of a leader who should understand national policy,” he told FMT.
Recently, a viral video showed Shafie at a Warisan event saying that the government should help undocumented migrants in Sabah, just as it had provided RM100 million in aid to Gaza.
He said that those without MyKads or passports should also receive assistance as they contributed to the local economy by fishing and farming to supply food for Sabahans.
Masiung, the Kuamat assemblyman, questioned Shafie’s motives, suggesting that his remarks could be a political ploy to gain mileage by exploiting a sensitive state issue.
Paul meanwhile said that the state’s undocumented migrant issue was not one of sympathy or humanitarian concern but of rights, security, and Sabah’s future.
“The people have long suffered from the failure to firmly address this issue – including during Shafie’s own tenure as chief minister.
“I urge all parties, especially political leaders like Shafie, to stop manipulating the issue for personal gain,” he said, adding that Sabah’s sovereignty must never be used as political fodder.
“A true Sabahan leader would defend this state firmly, not equate immigration offenders with victims of war.”
