FORMER Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohammadin Ketapi quit Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) today to become an independent aligned to the ruling coalition, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).
This comes barely three weeks after Sindumin state assemblyman Yusof Yacob leaving Warisan on Oct 8 to become GRS friendly.
“In the Sabah state election, I promised voters that I would bring progress and development to the area, including a motion to build a Segama sub-district office.
“Therefore, I believe that if I continue to be in the Opposition, the progress and development in Segama will be neglected.
“Therefore, I declare my exit from Warisan to become an independent MP who is ‘friendly’ to the state government,” the Segama state assemblyperson said, in a statement.
Mohamaddin, who is also Lahad Datu MP, has evoked controversy and ridicule since his tenure as a Cabinet minister under the short-lived Pakatan Harapan administration.
In March 2019, he was reported to have set tongues-wagging in an event in Germany, by telling the media that there were no gays in Malaysia.
“I don’t think we have anything like that in our country,” he was reported telling German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
He was also reported to have evaded answering questions on whether it was safe for homosexuals and Jews to visit Malaysia.
In September last year, he was reported to have claimed that the Lahad Datu incursion by over 200 Sulu militants in 2013 as “mass killing theatrics”.
After receiving brickbats from friends and adversaries alike, he apologised and said that the comments were made to highlight Barisan Nasional Government’s ineptitude in dealing with the matter and was not meant to insult the security forces.
No such thing as being “bought over”
On his departure from Warisan, Mohamaddin said he was prepared to face any legal action from the party as its candidates have signed letters of allegiance to the party before the state polls, where they would vacate their elected seats should they leave Warisan.
Mohamaddin also denied claims by Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal that there were “efforts” to buy of MPs and state representatives from the party.
“I myself was not bought. I’ve left the party not because I was bought off but due to the appalling state of my constituencies,” Free Malaysia Today reported him as saying. – Oct 30, 2021
