SABAH PKR has gone on the offensive against Warisan, accusing the party of mocking Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim while flood victims were still wading through mud.
PKR Sabah chief Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said his party had no issue with Warisan members helping those affected by floods and landslides.
What angered them, he stressed, was seeing the opposition stage political programmes and take swipes at the prime minister during a time of mourning.
“One, they held a party programme to receive saudara Remy Martin. The second, in Kota Belud recently, they specifically mocked the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister’s wife,” he told reporters at his Sepanggar office.
“That is what we regret – not the aid. Do not go overboard in politics until respect is lost.”
Palestine aid debate
The clash comes as online debates intensify over Putrajaya’s RM200 million pledge to Palestine compared with the RM10 million Anwar announced for Sabah disaster relief.
Mustapha said the criticism was misplaced, stressing that the the Gaza crisis was a humanitarian catastrophe on a different scale.
“Yesterday I accompanied the Prime Minister to the affected areas. He instructed the Public Works Department to immediately assess the needs, and he assured that the tender process would be exempted from the usual procedures.
“This is not a normal issue. This is genocide. Children are being killed every day. So of course, the country must be seen to play its role, just as Singapore and Japan have done.
“But that does not mean Sabah’s needs are ignored. The Prime Minister has made it clear Sabah’s requirements will be taken care of.”
Old wounds reopened
Mustapha didn’t stop there. He dredged up Warisan’s record in government, pointing to RM315 million in lawsuits after nine water concession contracts were cancelled, and delays to the Pan Borneo Highway following the termination of the Project Delivery Partner model.
“Try to compare the contribution of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim all this while to Sabah, with the contribution of others when they were in federal ministries,” he said.
“Please show some respect. This is adab for us in Sabah.”
Warisan, for its part, had previously defended those decisions — arguing the water contracts were lopsided and that the federal government itself pulled the plug on the highway’s PDP model.
PKR on the ground
Beyond the political salvos, Mustapha highlighted PKR’s relief efforts. The party’s youth wing reached 1,030 victims across Penampang, Papar, Kinarut and Beaufort during its first mission, with a second wave of 200 volunteers now cleaning homes, mosques, suraus, churches and other places of worship.
He estimated each badly hit constituency would require at least RM3 million for urgent repairs, depending on the severity of damage. Relief centres remain open, with Nadma and the Fire and Rescue Department still evacuating residents and clearing roads. - September 20, 2025
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