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PETALING JAYA: Former Prime Minister Najib Razak had strong advice to the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government on the latest claims about Sabah from the Philippines.
On Facebook, he said the government should not consider this claim “sudden,” suggesting it had never happened under its supervision.
Najib said it had been decades since Manila raised its claim to Sabah when Barisan Nasional was in power, adding: “When I was prime minister, the Philippines had never raised this issue with me.”
Assuring that Sabah is part of Malaysia, he said: “We must not submit or consider the claims of other countries.”
The latest barrage from the Philippines on the issue came after its foreign secretary, Teodoro Locsin Jr, said he will reactivate an office in his department dedicated to efforts to reclaim Sabah.
It was a move seen as rekindling a long-standing diplomatic dispute with Malaysia that had been put to bed decades ago.
Locsin, who reignited controversy by saying in July that Sabah “is not in Malaysia,” also claimed that Philippine presidential candidates had made offers of “huge” bribes to officials over the years to withdraw their claim on Sabah.
