KOTA KINABALU – Warisan is not begging to work with Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), but it would be the best scenario for the two parties to face the coming general election together, said Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
He said he welcomes PBS vice Youth chief Shahrun Nidzam Sharoom’s view, in which the latter expressed the possibility of PBS working with Warisan in the coming general election, saying that it is what Warisan has always wanted.
“We welcome if local parties PBS and Warisan work together, but I cannot be speaking out (about this) too many times, as if I am kneeling (begging).
“We see PBS and Warisan as Sabah local parties…the rest, we leave it to PBS’s leaders to decide,” he said during a press conference at the Warisan headquarters in Kolombong near here today.
Last Friday, Shahrun in a statement claimed that PBS felt uneasy after Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi recently said Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) will support BN in the coming election when the matter has yet to be finalised.
Shahrun said Warisan, on the other hand, had shown respect to PBS, with Shafie having publicly announced that he would be open for PBS to chair the PBS-Warisan collaboration.
Shafie today reiterated that Warisan would not push or beg to work with PBS, but is ready for both possibilities: either PBS agrees or rejects Warisan’s offer to join hands.
Speaking about Warisan’s vacant state seat, Bugaya, Shafie said it would be best if the Bugaya by-election is held at the same time as the 15th general election (GE15), adding that they have identified the candidate.
The Bugaya seat became vacant after Warisan’s representative, Datin Manis Muka Mohd Darah, passed away in November 2020, only two months after the Sabah election.
Warisan’s Batu Sapi federal seat also became vacant after Datuk Liew Vui Keong passed away in October 2020.
By-elections in both seats did not take place after the emergency declaration was called in these seats, considering the seriousness of the Covid-19 cases at the time.
The emergency declaration in both seats was revoked by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong last Friday (October 7).
Shafie said Warisan actually had the right to push for by-elections in Batu Sapi federal seat and Bugaya earlier, but the party is considering the additional costs that the government has to bear if it is held separately from GE15.
“We did not push the government back then because of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite knowing that having our representatives in these seats is important for Warisan.
“What is more important is not the number of our seats but the health of the people at the grassroots level.
“We now leave this matter to the Election Commission. It would save cost if by-elections are held together with the GE15, and Warisan is ready anytime,” he added. – The Vibes, October 9, 2022
