KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman has cautioned Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) not to raise the issue of the Philippines' claim over Sabah as a subject to serve its own "gutter politics".
Anifah who is also Kimanis MP said the accusation by the party's secretary-general Loretto Padua Jr that the Government did not want to conclusively resolve the claim made by the Philippines on Sabah, was baseless.
"This accusation is baseless, provocative, misleading and is to be condemned in the strongest possible terms," he said in a statement released by the ministry on Monday. The minister also repeated the Government's position that the Philippine's claim on Sabah is without basis and that Sabah has been recognised by the United Nations and the international community as part of Malaysia since its formation on Sept 16, 1963.
"As such, Malaysia does not recognise and will not entertain any claims by any party on Sabah," he said.
Padua had on July 28, accused Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein of trying to divert the question on the claim, posed by the party's president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal in the Dewan Rakyat a day earlier, by raising the threat of the Islamic State terror group in the region.
Anifah said as an MP for some years, Shafie, who is Semporna MP, was well acquainted with the Malaysian Government's position on the issue.
"By the same token he is also well aware that the matter falls within the jurisdiction of the Foreign Minister and not the Defence Minister ... and his party's subsequent response is mostly an attempt to confuse and mislead the people," he said. - Bernama