- Wartawan Nabalu News
JUNZ'S REMARKS UNFAIR, ANTHONY LOKE NEVER INTENDED TO INTERVENE IN STATE'S MATTER - PHOONG
1 July 2021
By Wartawan Nabalu News
KOTA KINABALU: The national publicity secretary of DAP Sabah Youth (DAPSY) Phoong Jin Zhe said Warisan Vice President Datuk Junz Wong's remarks on former Federal Minister of Transport Anthony Loke were unfair.
Earlier in a statement today, Junz mentioned that Loke had tried to Sabah from suspending flights from China to disembark in Kota Kinabalu International Airport when the country was first hit by Covid-19 in January last year.
“We all acknowledge and agree that immigration rights are the autonomy of the Sabah state government and the chief minister has the final right to decide who can enter the state.
“Loke as the Minister of Transport back then never had the intention to intervene in Sabah state’s matter; he approached former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal to discuss the entry ban as the Chinese Ambassador was worried about China tourists that are restrained in the state before the implementation of the ban,” he justified.
"DAP has been consistent and unwavering in safeguarding the rights and autonomy of Sabah. As Junz’s cabinet colleague, I have always backed the state government’s decision but he needs to understand the concerns of other stakeholders.
“We all understand that there are various aspects before decisions are made by a government. In this matter, the intention of Loke for contacting Shafie was to express the concerns of related stakeholders. It is unfair of Junz for making such remarks over him.”
On another matter, Phoong who is also the Luyang State Assemblyman also slammed the federal government for not focusing on the top priority to speed up the vaccination programme in Sabah.
“Apparently, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government is incompetent in leading us to overcome this outbreak.
"Rather than intervening in the state’s SOPs, they should be tackling the pandemic by supplying more vaccines for Sabah,” he stressed.
