Candidate: 'Outsider' Mat Hasan is confused about Warisan's local status

KIMANIS POLLS | Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan's attempt to play down Warisan's status as a Sabah-based party showed that he was confused, said Warisan's candidate for the Kimanis by-election Karim Bujang.

"Warisan is a local party but that doesn't stop us from working closely with another party in West Malaysia. There are no two ways about it," said Karim when met today.

Karim, a former two-term Bongawan assemblyperson, said cooperation between Sabah-based parties and parties in Peninsular Malaysia had long existed. 

He said Sabahans have accepted that Warisan was a local party as proven during the 2018 general elections. 

He said locals preferred being represented by a local party and that this was a factor in the Kimanis by-election campaign. 

"I think Mat Hasan get himself confused. You ask him to come and see me and I will explain better to him," he said. 

At a ceramah last night, Mohamad urged voters to be wary of Warisan's penchant for playing the "local party" card because of their ties to Pakatan Harapan. 

Mohamad, who himself leads a party from Peninsular Malaysia, said Warisan was attempting to distance themselves from Harapan because of the latter's apparent poor performance at the national level. 

He said the fact was Warisan was a strong supporter of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

"If the Sabah Warisan state government says they have nothing to do with Harapan, that is a lie...," said Mohamad.

Mohamad had said this in response to Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal's attempt to paint Umno as an "outsider" which ruled Sabah for decades without much success.  - Mkini