Shafie scoffs at GRS slogans, tightens rules to prevent party-hopping

WARISAN president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has ridiculed Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s (GRS) slogans “Sabah Maju Jaya” and “Rumah Kita, Kita Jaga”.

He said the slogans ring hollow, pointing to billions in allocations but the state remains with its amenity crisis, corruption scandals, and the coalition’s seat-sharing deals with its national ally Pakatan Harapan.

“You called for ‘Rumah Kita, Kita Jaga’, but in the kitchen there is no water. How can we take care of our own home when in the kitchen there is no electricity?” he said in Tawau during the official launch of Warisan’s Selamatkan Sabah slogan on Saturday.

Shafie said Sabahans continue to struggle despite record spending under the GRS government.

“Imagine what is happening in this land of Sabah. What is happening here? They shout ‘Sabah Maju Jaya’, they shout ‘Our house, we take care, but the people still suffer,” he said.

On the same note, he also accused GRS of bowing to national coalitions and treating Sabah’s 73 state seats as bargaining chips, while opening the state up peninsula-based parties to expand their influence in the state.

“This party wants 20, that party wants 30, another party wants 40. Negotiating seats. They face the Prime Minister, wanting to negotiate seats.

 During Warisan’s government, we did not negotiate with Kuala Lumpur. They came to ask Warisan. This is our right. These are our seats,” he said.

Illustrating his point, Shafie recalled that in 2018, then Bersatu deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin travelled to Kota Kinabalu seeking Warisan’s cooperation under the Perikatan Rakyat alliance.

“They came to ask Warisan. This is our right. These are our seats. Imagine, during Warisan’s government, we did not negotiate with Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

On ongoing corruption allegations, Shafie pointed to videos purportedly showing leaders discussing money from mineral deals.

“Chief Minister, there are minerals signed, videos coming out involving nine people.

“Some say not enough. Some say give to the party. Some say they already got millions. Some say quietly but have already received (the money).”

In contrast, he defended Warisan’s 20 months in power that have no corruption record.

“During Warisan’s rule, 26 months. Twenty months we were the government.

“Were there corruption cases against us? Did I take thousands of acres of land? Did I ask Mahathir for Pan Borneo? Did I ask (Then finance minister) Lim Guan Eng, you give this project, how many billions from Kuala Lumpur?” he asked, as the crowd responded “No”.

Speaking to reporters later, Shafie said candidates contesting under the party’s banner in the upcoming Sabah election will be required to sign a RM10 million bond.

He said the measure was aimed at curbing the culture of party-hopping that has destabilised successive state governments, including his own.

“When they use our party logo, we put 10 million bonds there to bind them, to prevent them from contesting later and from turning politics into an arena for rewards and profit,” he said.

Shafie stressed that Warisan’s constitution already strips defectors of both membership and seats but said the bond would add a financial deterrent.

He also addressed the possibility of former members returning.

“If they want to join, we do not reject them, but they cannot be candidates,” he said, adding the party must foster a culture that resists political opportunism and repeated defections.

A total of 13 of Warisan’s 29 elected representatives defected after the 2020 polls.

Earlier, Shafie unveiled the party’s Selamatkan Sabah (Save Sabah) slogan and red-white-blue logo, saying it was meant to unify Warisan’s message across constituencies.

“In this struggle there must be unity, not only of spirit or speech, but the slogan that exists to bind, wanting to save Sabah,” he said. - October 4, 2025