“Warisan can blow winds of change to peninsula with new alternative approach to politics”

 

WARISAN president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal once said “I am the definition of a Malaysia” which exactly sums up the Malaysia we want.

What he means is that in this Malaysia everyone will get a place under the sun regardless of their religion and race. No one dominant ethnic group can call the shots.

Shafie raised the hope that Malaysia could look forward to this “new alternative” when Warisan spread its wing to the peninsula in 2021. Although the party did not put down firm roots in the peninsular soil, the message was not lost with the passage of time.

At the recently concluded Sabah election, Warisan emerged stronger than ever – having bagged 25 seats which made it the single biggest bloc in the state legislature. Shafie himself retained his Senallang seat.

The outcome of the 17th Sabah State Election (Image credit: Dato’ Seri Michael Tio’s/Facebook)

Indeed, Sabah wholeheartedly endorsed the stand taken by Warisan to be a party for all races and not be restricted to serving just one ethnic community and one religion.

Shafie’s message is loud and clear: all local parties in Sabah must unite to ensure the voices of the people are heard not only in the state but also in the peninsula.

Warisan’s resurrection

The former chief minister will have to work harder to unite all the local parties and the people to face a bigger battle in the shape of the 16th General Election (GE16) where Warisan can test again its strength based on its inclusive, race-blind and religion-blind approach to politics.

In the GE15 outing in 2022, the Heritage Party won only three federal seats in Sabah and lost all 26 parliamentary seats it contested in the peninsula.

Two years earlier, Warisan was dealt a bigger blow when it lost in a snap state election to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) whose leader Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor became the new chief minister.

All these setbacks for Warisan could have spelt the end of the road for the party but Shafie is astute enough to play his cards correctly while in the political wilderness.

Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal (Image credit: Shafie Apdal/Facebook)

The former UMNO vice-president did not fade away but continued to be the face of unity without racial and religious borders.

He kept hammering home his line of reasoning that Malaysia was formed to unite the people and leaders and political parties should therefore not exploit race, religion and royalty to advance their divisive agenda.

When he decided to go solo in the 17th state polls instead of linking up with GRS and be part of the unity government, many critics including the DAP took swipes at Shafie for playing politics at the expense of the wellbeing of Sabah.

But the former federal minister proved them all wrong when Warisan swept to a convincing performance, emerging as the second biggest party while DAP was wiped out.

Fearless opposition

Did he cause political instability with his move to go solo? On the contrary, it was a wise decision because he knows that aligning with Pakatan Harapan (PH) with PKR as the dominant partner would only clip Warisan’s wings.

Shafie should know what it means to play second fiddle to a dominant partner. He was in UMNO for about 20 years (from 1994 to 2016).

Recall that he became an UMNO vice-president in 2009 – the first leader from Sabah to hold such a senior post.

But in 2016, he had a falling-out with the then prime minister (PM) and UMNO president Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and was expelled from the party. That led to the birth of Warisan.

(Najib is now serving jail time in Kajang Prison for his role in the RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption case.)

Shafie cited his experience in Barisan Nasional (BN) where UMNO was dominant for 60 years and “we saw MCA die, MIC die and Gerakan die, so we don’t want that to happen”. He doesn’t want Warisan to suffer a similar fate by joining the unity government

For now, Warisan will have to be content with playing the role of the opposition but it will be speaking out from a position of strength as it has become the strongest political force in the state.

Shafie has also laid out his mission to unite local parties so that Sabah can be a region to be reckoned with in the corridors of federal power. Putrajaya cannot ignore Warisan because the party has single-handedly managed to garner massive support from all races.

The people in the peninsula will be watching keenly how Warisan will fare in the coming months and years as its president keeps propagating his ideas of unity in diversity.

The type of politics advocated by Warisan is what is sorely needed in Peninsular Malaysia where some prominent leaders of major political parties are not the definition of Malaysia but the embodiment of racism, bigotry and religious fanaticism.

Shafie may not have the chance of becoming the PM of all Malaysians but he has – at least – laid the groundwork for future Warisan leaders to carry the Bornean torch right up to the doors of Putrajaya.

If support for Warisan can be replicated in the peninsula in GE16, the “new alternative” can become a reality and Malaysia will be the better for it. 

Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.