After the “political tsunami” unleashed in the Sabah election, Warisan - which emerged as the single largest party in the state assembly with 25 seats - has set its sights on the next national polls.
The party hopes to ride on its momentum by winning more parliamentary seats in Sabah and potentially aligning with Sarawak-based parties to shape federal power.
Warisan vice-president Junz Wong said the Sabah election was merely “a battle”, while “the war” will take place within the next two years, during the 16th general election.
He told Malaysiakini that Warisan plans to contest all parliamentary seats in Sabah, and is open to working with like-minded local parties.
However, he said his party has no immediate plans to revive its westward expansion - unless the Chinese community in Peninsular Malaysia signals “readiness”.
This comes despite the party sweeping the urban seats and winning strong Chinese support in the recently concluded Sabah polls.
“Is the Chinese community in Peninsular Malaysia ready? Sabah’s is. We’ve created a political tsunami here,” he declared.
“I’m not sure if this tsunami will spread to the peninsula - that’s for you to answer, not for us.
“Are you ready? If you are, tell us. If not, what’s the point of us going there?”
Wong said this during a Malaysiakini Chinese-language podcast, which was aired on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, yesterday.
“Won’t miss the boat again”
Reflecting on the 2022 general election, Wong said the Chinese community trusted Pakatan Harapan and its leader, Anwar Ibrahim, but now felt ”deceived”.
He argued that if Chinese voters in Sabah had fully supported Warisan at the time, the party could have secured 10 to 12 parliamentary seats, enough to influence federal politics alongside the Sarawak bloc.
He said this would have given Warisan greater leverage to counterbalance Anwar.
“But we missed that chance. Now everyone in Sabah is waiting for the next general election. We won’t miss the boat again,” he said.
In the recent Sabah polls, Warisan not only defended its east coast strongholds but also swept urban constituencies, capturing almost all the Harapan bastions, including DAP’s Luyang and Likas, as well as PKR’s Api-Api.
DAP suffered a total wipeout, while PKR managed to win only one seat in Melalap through Jamawi Jaafar, who defected to the party shortly before the campaign.
First westward expansion
Warisan first attempted to expand into Peninsular Malaysia in 2021 by recruiting former Harapan and BN leaders, but the initiative collapsed in the 2022 general election, leaving the party seatless in the peninsula.
Of the 52 parliamentary seats it contested - including 25 in Sabah and one in Labuan - Warisan won only three, all in Sabah. Even former MCA president Ong Tee Keat, who ran in Pandan, Selangor, under the Warisan banner, was humiliatingly defeated and lost his deposit.
The six state elections the following year saw Warisan sitting out, marking an end to its westward push.
Wong stressed that the party is currently focused on Sabah and will only reconsider if peninsula voters, in particular the Chinese community, clearly demand an alternative platform.
On the Sabah results, he said voters sent two clear messages - rising localist sentiment and desire for a government made up entirely of Sabah parties, coupled with deep frustration toward the federal administration.
“We’ve made it loud and clear - an urban or Chinese political tsunami. Historically, political change often starts with a Chinese tsunami,” Wong said. - Mkini
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