KOTA KINABALU – Warisan remains positive that it will be well received in Peninsular Malaysia, two weeks after announcing its official national expansion.
The Sabah-based party’s president, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, said that to date, there have been former members from Umno, MIC, PAS, MCA and Bersatu joining his party.
“Alhamdulillah, the response has been positive; there are a lot of people (supporting the party). I was supposed to go to Johor to receive more new members.
“I do not want to say (reveal) much; we leave it to the people to decide the political path of the country,” he said at a press conference held at the airport here, today.
Shafie opined that many challenges and obstacles are expected ahead in his quest to expand the party to Peninsular Malaysia but stressed he will be firm with his stand and principles.
“A lot of things will come (at the party). Tie our hands, legs and (shut) our mouths. But I am firm with what I believe in.
“I was with Umno, I have worked with BN, I have also worked with Pakatan Harapan.
“They wanted to collaborate with Sabah so they came to Sabah. This time, I want to collaborate, so I come to Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
Shafie said that he found that the people have started hating politicians, but he added that the people must change the political landscape in order to change their lives.
“We cannot wait for the politicians to change; the rakyat have to ensure that they change their own living conditions,” he said.
Despite losing a total of five assemblymen last year, Shafie remains optimistic that the party still has a lot of supporters.
“We are not shaken. We are not a party with a lot of money, but we are confident that we still have our supporters. We will continue our fight,” he said.
Speaking about Datuk Peter Anthony’s formation of another political party after quitting Warisan, Shafie said that it has been a norm in politics.
“In politics, Berjaya produced Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), then PBS produced PBRS, Sabah Progressive Party, Upko, Liberal Democratic Party and so on. However, this does not change anything.
“What (Warisan) wants is genuine change; not only a change in mindset and characters (of politicians) but also the administration of the government.
“We are now in a country that continues to debate about race and religion. We are still arguing about the name Timah, food and drinks – even chopsticks can become an issue.
“This is concerning and we want this to change. There are still a lot of prominent matters that should be focused on. The government’s direction must have clarity,” he said.
Shafie also said he is not a supporter of a particular political leader, but claimed he is firm on his belief to make change in the country so he will scrutinise what he sees is wrong as a people’s representative.
“I am not a crony of any leader. People say I am Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s crony, but in the past, I have supported Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and Datuk Seri Najib Razak when I was in Umno, but it does not make me their crony,” he said.
On the rumours that Warisan will work with Umno to replace topple the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah government, Shafie said they are merely rumours and Warisan is firm with its stand.
“I have worked with many parties before, so is it wrong for me to say that the direction of the country’s administration is not on the right path?
“I’d like to make a change through my experiences, and not through rumours,” he added. – The Vibes, January 2, 2022
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