KOTA KINABALU: Former chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has refuted claims of his involvement in an ongoing land deal issue that allegedly implicates current Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
In a statement, Shafie expressed his disapproval of the recent news surrounding the Kudat land deal on Pulau Balambangan, which has generated significant public attention and discussion.
“It is important to note that despite no longer being the chief minister, various political leaders in Sabah have wrongly associated my name with this deal,” he clarified.
Shafie firmly denied any participation or misconduct in the case, emphasizing, “As a result, I have taken legal measures to counter these unfounded allegations.” He added that he has engaged a lawyer who has initiated a lawsuit against those who have linked his name to this land deal.
Additionally, Shafie highlighted the issuance of a letter of demand to these individuals.
One individual who implicated Shafie in the land issue was Parti Gagasan Rakyat information chief Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan. In a statement on Oct 9, Nizam dismissed the allegations made on the “Edisi Panas Sabah” Facebook page as baseless.
The Facebook page contended that Hajiji had misused his authority in approving a 968-hectare land deal with a Sarawak businessman on Pulau Balambangan.
Nizam expressed his belief that the images featured in the posts aimed to raise suspicions by insinuating a close relationship between the Sarawakian businessman and Hajiji.
“However, the same businessman was previously seen, in other social media posts, to be associated with former chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, the President of Parti Warisan,” Nizam pointed out.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
