KOTA KINABALU – A news clipping that has been viralled on social media claiming that Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and his deputy, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, met with the state’s Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin at 2.30pm yesterday, is false.
The deputy chief minister’s press secretary, Jaafar Abd Wahid, in a statement today said that the clipping was actually from a report after the Sabah election in 2020, but its date was deliberately cropped, which was believed to have been done to confuse readers.
He said the news clipping was deliberately spread by irresponsible individuals to heat up the upcoming 15th general election (GE15), which should not have been done as it could cause anxiety among the people.
“I received several calls and messages questioning the validity of the news. I had breakfast with Bung Moktar at his residence (yesterday) before sending him in the afternoon to Kota Kinabalu International Airport to catch a flight to Kuala Lumpur.
“(Yesterday) the chief minister (Hajiji) was in Kota Marudu for the GRS (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah) Tour programme... this news clipping was spread by irresponsible individuals on social media, especially WhatsApp,” he said.
The viralled news clipping has raised questions on the status of the state assembly following rumours that some assemblymen from GRS would follow the move by Bandau representative Datuk Wetrom Bahanda and leave the coalition.
Sabah is administered by GRS and Barisan Nasional (BN), which have 53 seats in the state assembly, compared with the opposition’s 25 seats.
Jaafar said the news clipping was being used by the opposition cybertroopers to create disunity among government supporters, especially GRS and BN, as GE15 looms.
He advised the public to not be easily lured by fake news. – Bernama, October 17, 2022
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