Statement on Rela not to discredit them: Shafie
Published on: Sunday, January 21, 2018
Labuan: Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal claims his remarks about the People's Volunteer Corps (Rela) were not meant to mock them.He admitted saying that Rela members were trained for crowd and traffic control and not trained as security personnel against extremist groups, but that his statement was not aimed at belittling them."I'm not foolish to cast aspersions on Rela and if you heard my full speech I was actually expressing my concern for this volunteer force.
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"I said they (Rela) are not trained to do security work in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone), an area which is for the military and navy and not volunteers," he said during an event with the people in Labuan Saturday.Videos showing him saying those words went viral soon after.It triggered a protest by Rela members in front of his house in Semporna, while several others lodged a police report for belittling their role.Shafie said the accusations that he had insulted Rela was the desperate work of opponents who distorted the video of his speech.
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"Yes, I said Rela is only trained for crowd control and traffic, but I was not mocking and that's the truth. They're certainly not equipped to go after cross-border criminals," he said.
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Shafie said the Esszone and security in that area is best left to the people who are trained and paid for the job."Don't you feel for the Rela families, for their ill-equipped men facing the enemy armed with wooden batons?" he said.He said many Rela personnel from all over the country also called him to say that they knew what he had said."They told me that the video was the work of mischievous people who wanted to drive a wedge between me and Rela," Shafie claimed.Shafie who is opposition Parti Warisan President said it would like to hold talks with opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan to discuss seat allocations for the upcoming 14th general election. Warisan has repeatedly said it will not join Pakatan Harapan."I won't provide details on what we will discuss. It will be an amicable discussion and we are not going to forsake anyone." The Semporna MP was in Labuan for 'Bicara Presiden', a roadshow to explain Warisan's plans for the elections.Also present were Warisan deputy president Darell Leiking, vice presidents Jaujan Sambokong and Junz Wong and youth chief Azis Jamman.Shafie told the crowd Warisan intends to contest in Labuan and will discuss with Sabah Pakatan Harapan for the parliamentary seat.He said PKR had contested in the seat previously but never won. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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