Focus on winning back Sabah, PKR tells Shafie

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal should focus on taking back the Sabah government from Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the 15th general election instead of spreading his party’s wings to the peninsula.

PKR State youth chief Raymond Ahuar said he is not against Shafie’s decision to expand Warisan to the peninsula in the spirit of democracy. However, it is a bit awkward that he wants to take Warisan there after failing in Sabah in the Sept 26 state elections.

“In the Sabah campaign, almost all billboards had his face emblazoned on them. He failed to convey the true message of unity and was not accepted by the Kadazan, Dusun and Murut communities,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Shafie disclosed that Warisan supreme council members had unanimously agreed upon a motion during their annual general meeting (AGM) on Saturday to open branches in the peninsula to become a national party.

He said that other Sabah-based parties such as PBS and Upko have contested in the peninsula before.

Raymond said the opposition leadership is still strong contrary to Shafie’s contention that it may fail in the 15th general election if the current crop of leaders continue to be in the driver’s seat.

He said parties like Warisan and Pejuang were the ones attempting to weaken Pakatan Harapan (PH) by not supporting its efforts in Parliament.

“They are acting independently just because of personal problems with PH leaders. If you look at the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government today, it does not have the strength to get even 112 votes of MPs, or 50% support, for the 2021 budget,” he said.

Raymond reminded Shafie that PKR had focused on unity way before in 1998 by forming a national multiracial and multi-religious political party. “And today, we are the largest multiracial party in the country with over one million members.”

He said the unification of all the opposition parties without any personal agenda can definitely strengthen the existing pact.

“So I advise Shafie to stop dragging personal problems into politics and immediately find a common ground to restore the people’s mandate won in GE14,” he said.