KOTA KINABALU – Despite not winning any seats in the recently concluded Johor polls, Warisan’s debut in Peninsular Malaysia has been described as fruitful.
Its president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said he was aware that contesting in Johor was not a good decision and any new outfit would find it challenging to make an impact the first time.
Shafie also noted that their maiden foray was also proof that Warisan was an independent party, free from being a crony to any groups or party.
“Just look at PKR and DAP when they came to Sabah. Did they win any seats? Look at PAS, they have been trying to win seats in Sabah for years, but did they ever win any seats?” he said to reporters after arriving from Kuala Lumpur at Kota Kinabalu International Airport here today.
Shafie also noted that the party was not totally rejected in just three weeks of the chapter’s launch in the southern peninsular state.
Aside from fielding fresh faces in the poll, Warisan still garnered a total of 6,532 votes in all the seats it contested, namely Mahkota, Bekok, Permas, Pekan Nenas, Johor Jaya, and Bukit Batu in the March 12 state election.
He said Johor folk were more familiar to him than his own party, but added Warisan already has a presence now in the southern peninsula state, and only needs some restructuring to boost its presence.
“We will have a meeting this Saturday and we will look into the details of it.
“Some were marginal seats or dominated by a particular race. But now we have a clearer picture of the situation,” he said.
He also said voters’ sentiments may have changed since GE14 as even Pagoh MP Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, a former prime minister and Perikatan Nasional leader, despite not contesting in the Johor polls, was not able to recapture his own hometown Bukit Gambir.
The seat was won by Barisan Nasional candidate Sahrihan Jani.
He noted the need to look at what is shaping the mind of the voters now, saying candidates alone will not ensure victory.
“This is why we have to return to the drawing board and build a new framework for the forthcoming elections.
“I hope Johor will be the last state election and a proper general election should be planned out from now.
“There is talk that the election would be held next year, but I think it will be held this year,” he said.
Shafie also said efforts should be made to encourage more young voters to come out and vote, adding that there was a low turnout among 18-year-old voters in the recently concluded state election.
In a similar development, he also said he noticed a dispute between the national parties and the local outfits.
For instance, he said DAP attacked Warisan for trying to “disturb” the election while Umno claimed that Warisan should not be in peninsular Malaysia.
“This is in Warisan’s constitution. The party can contest in all 222 parliamentary seats if it wishes to.
“They were able to expand to Sabah so why can’t Warisan? Even when Bersatu promised not to spread its wings to Sabah, they eventually did anyway. So why can’t Warisan?” he said. - The Vibes, March 15, 2022
