Sabah State Assembly Speaker maintains decision to reject motion to debate Sulu claims

KOTA KINABALU - Sabah State Assembly Speaker Datuk Kadzim M Yahya has maintained his decision in rejecting the motion by opposition leader Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal over the security threat issue following the claims of the heirs of the Sulu Sultanate.

The application for the motion to be debated was once again submitted by Shafie on Tuesday after it was rejected during the state legislative assembly sitting on Monday.

During the session on Thursday, Kadzim said the motion was rejected in accordance with Rule 23 (2) which states that any motions that have been rejected, could not be presented and read during the meeting.

"I reject the application by Shafie," he said.

Previously, Shafie said a letter to seek permission to present the motion to debate on the issue was sent on Tuesday.

"The second application seeking for the council's permission was to debate on security, not on Azerbaijan, not about the court in Spain, but the safety on the present threat.

"The matter was of importance and we claim our autonomy and this matter is to ensure our safety. We do not want them to have the money nor wait until it happens in Sabah. Safety is very important under Article 140, 137.It is under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

He said the basis of the motion previously being rejected was due to it being sent less than 24 hours before the state legislative assembly sitting took place and it was submitted again the following day.

"The Speaker said during the previous session that it was due to the short timeframe, the basis was the time that was less than 24 hours. I waited from Tuesday, Wednesday and now Thursday for the conclusion (motion not presented)," he said.