PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Najib Razak says it is unfair for Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) to be blamed for the spike in Covid-19 cases following the recent Sabah state election.
Acknowledging that the presence of politicians to campaign in Sabah had complicated things, Najib said it was Warisan president and then caretaker chief minister Shafie Apdal who wanted to go ahead with the polls.
“It’s unfair to only blame PN and BN because we never wanted the Sabah state election to be held. The election was triggered because several Pakatan Harapan (PH) assemblymen lost their trust in Shafie and hopped to the group led by Musa Aman.
“Although he had a clear majority, the Sabah governor refused to receive Musa, even obstructing Musa from entering the state palace.
“Instead, the governor followed Shafie’s advice to dissolve the state assembly to make way for elections,” he said in a Facebook post today.
Najib said Shafie’s request to dissolve the state assembly was opposed by Musa, with the former chief minister attempting to postpone the election three times in court.
“Shafie didn’t care. Instead, Shafie asked for Covid-19 positive patients to be allowed to vote while Warisan leader Mohamaddin Ketapi claimed that the rise in Covid-19 cases in Sabah was fake.”
He also took a swipe at PH leaders for praising Shafie’s “bravery” in dissolving the state assembly when they later shifted the blame on the federal government for allowing the election to go on.
He said several PH leaders had opposed a proposed quarantine order for those returning from Sabah, saying it would scare voters away and suppress their democratic right to vote.
“In the end, Shafie himself apologised for dissolving the state assembly and calling for elections.”
Najib said PN or BN leaders had no choice but to help campaign for Gabungan Rakyat Sabah despite being advised by their loved ones against doing so.
“Nevertheless, I still have hope in the health ministry and PN government’s ability to control the spread of Covid-19,” he said. -FMT