KUALA LUMPUR – Warisan decided to drop its partnership with Pakatan Harapan (PH) for the 15th general election (GE15) because of a lack of unity and unkept promises on reforms, party president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said.
The Sabah-based party, which has now branched out to the peninsula where it will contest at least 25 parliamentary seats, will only collaborate with a coalition here if it shares the same values, he told The Vibes.
“I remember when we (Warisan) were in PH, I was very disappointed because we thought that we’ll do some serious structural reform to the governing of this country, and (to discuss) what the best way is to unite each other.
Yet, (PH) became divided by the need to become ministers. There was no unity of mind in the cabinet,” Shafie said on an episode of The Vibes’ The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly podcast.
Shafie, who was Sabah chief minister during PH’s stint in federal power after its GE14 win, said Malaysians had asked him what went wrong.
“They had voted for PH which turned out to be a disappointment for them,” he said.
In the 22 months’ of the PH government, Shafie said numerous promises were made for Sabah and Sarawak, but not many were implemented.
“People were drawn by the promises, such as 20% royalty and autonomy for Sabah. They were enamoured by the sweet talk of the politicians,” he said.
“Understandably, it was not an easy task. It was a short period of time, (and PH did not have) one complete term.
Yet, we were not centred and focused on delivering what we had promised to the people.”
Shafie added that he was sceptical of PH’s performance, even if the Sheraton Move had not happened and PH had served a full term as government, as “sincerity was not on board”.
He also felt that peninsula-based politicians did not share the values of Sabah and Sarawak representatives.
“There are parties from the peninsula that enter the arena of Sabah and Sarawak. Like PAS, they have never won. Similarly, it took some time for DAP to win a single seat.”
Despite this gap, Shafie said it was timely that Warisan had expanded to the peninsula.
“The wind coming from the east is timely, because it has always been the west travelling east to inculcate their values to the locals there, (and this) does not blend with the fabric of society there,” said the former Umno politician who quit the party in 2016.
Warisan formally made its debut in Peninsular Malaysia in December last year. Yesterday, Shafie announced the party would contest at least 25 parliamentary seats in the peninsula. It is also going for state seats in Perlis and Perak.
Warisan tested the electoral waters in the peninsula by contesting in the Johor election in March this year, but failed to win any of the six seats where it fielded candidates.
Shafie said he knew that it would not be easy, but the party had to take that first step.
It will take time for people to accept (us). It took years for (Barack) Obama to become the first African-American president, and also for Rishi Sunak to be the first (UK) prime minister (of Indian descent).”
Shafie added that Warisan was not keen on being a part of any peninsula-based coalition as chasing a “big tent” was not its priority.
“What is important for each party is not for them to have a bigger tent or about who has a seat in which area, (but matters like) unemployment and inflation rates.”
He also said that being a formal member of a coalition would make seat negotiations and “chasing power” difficult to avoid.
“Politics can destroy and divide when driven by political needs, (such as) how parties need their respective members to hold certain states and areas.” – The Vibes, November 2, 2022
Tune into the full episode of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Ep 20: Shafie Apdal on Warisan’s vision for inclusive Malaysia post-GE15
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