Must be winnable seats, winnable candidates — Shafie
KOTA KINABALU: The main focus for Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) now is not so much about seat distribution but instead the two are more concerned about how they can bring down the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in the upcoming 14th General Elections (GE14)
Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal asserted that the most important thing for the two parties right now is to fulfil the wishes of the people, which is to have a new ruling government.
“What is important in our mind is not so much about who would get which seat or who would become the candidate. What is important to us is the main objective is to take over the government,” Shafie said when met by reporters at Warisan’s walkabout at the Foh Sang morning market on Saturday.
Recently, it was reported that both Warisan and PH had made a ‘verbal’ agreement regarding the upcoming GE14.
“How can we change the government? To do so we would need to have the right candidates and the right seats.
“There is no use for us to get candidates and seats if they cannot deliver and win. There must be winnable seats and winnable candidates, to realize what the people at large want,” Shafie added.
When asked whether Warisan and PH would be able to finalize the seat allocation before GE14, Shafie stressed that the two parties were currently working on the issue.
Also present in the event was PH Sabah and PKR Sabah chairman cum Api-Api assemblywoman Christina Liew.
When asked to comment on the seat distribution, Christina simply answered that she agreed with what Shafie had said earlier.
“I have said it many times. You do not have to worry about it as we will work things out. Something will be worked out before we head into the battlefield,” Christina said.
Shafie added that he was pleased to see the positive response to the prospect of Warisan from the people of Foh Sang.
“It looks like the response from the people here had been encouraging. Thus, we hope that this can be translated in the upcoming election,” he said, adding that it was clear to him that the people need change, both at the state and federal level.
After talking to the local hawkers and sellers in the market, Shafie found out that the implementation of the Good and Services Tax (GST) had really hindered the former’s business progress.
“Customers are now more particular when they are purchasing goods (due to the GST). I believe that this issue can be a measuring stick for us to figure out how we can engage with the people, at this level.
“As we draw closer to the Chinese New Year, we hope that Sabah would be able to experience a huge change,” Shafie said.
Also present was Warisan vice president Junz Wong.