KOTA KINABALU – Sabah-based Warisan is eyeing seats in Peninsular Malaysia – namely, in Johor, Penang, Perlis, Kedah, and Selangor – its president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal confirmed today.
He said the party will not be contesting all peninsula seats, but so far, they have identified the five states which will see candidates from Warisan in the 15th general election.
He said this at a press conference during the party’s pre-election tour in Kalabakan, Tawau, today.
Warisan, which was formed as a Sabah-based party in October 2016, had rebranded from Parti Warisan Sabah to Parti Warisan after its official expansion to the peninsula in December last year.
Since then, the party contested in seats outside Sabah during the Johor election in March this year but failed to claim any of the six seats it vied for.
After Kalabakan, the Warisan tour was held in the Tawau parliamentary seat on the same day and saw Shafie welcoming a new member, Datuk Kong Hong Ming, a senior lawyer who is known for handling native customary rights land cases pro bono for the indigenous community for years.
Kong, who is from Tawau, has been known among the indigenous community to be a land rights lawyer.
He was previously in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) but it could not be ascertained when he left the party.
He contested the Tawau seat in 2013 under PKR’s ticket but was defeated by a Barisan Nasional candidate. PKR fielded Datuk Christina Liew in 2018 and she is the incumbent Tawau MP.
The Vibes learned that he was once Sabah minister of social services in the 1990s.
Shafie said he was very happy to receive a member who is well known among the locals.
“I am sure that Kong, as an individual with qualifications in law, is capable of not only strengthening Warisan’s fights in Tawau but also in Sabah,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kong told the press that he did not leave any party to join Warisan as he was no longer affiliated to any political party.
“To me, it is time for me to join a truly local Sabah party that is multiracial, fighting for Sabah and Malaysia. It is a party that is truly without discrimination between races and religions.
“This is what the people want, and this is what is important,” he said.
Kong also said that he has friends joining him in Warisan but added that they are not from any particular party. – The Vibes, September 25, 2022
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