Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal has underscored the need for the opposition to present a “new recipe” ahead of the 15th general election.
This recipe, he said, ought to include a fresh leadership.
Interviewed by radio station BFM89.9 this morning, he floated the idea of an East Malaysian opposition leader but stopped short of offering himself for the role.
“Well, I didn’t say that it should be me.
“But if Malaysians think that a person coming from Peninsular Malaysia has been presenting themselves (as the leader) for the last 60 years, why not a Sabahan or Sarawakian for that matter?
“Because we are building a nation here. Don’t tell me East Malaysians can’t provide or render their services to the country?” he asked rhetorically.
Present opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has come under fire after he failed to prove he had the numbers in the Dewan Rakyat to defeat the final Budget 2021 vote.
The PKR president previously claimed to possess a “strong, formidable and convincing” majority in the House.
Shafie, meanwhile, recently began positioning himself as a national leader. Over the weekend he announced plans to expand Sabah-based Warisan nationwide during the party’s annual congress.
During this morning’s interview, the Semporna MP pointed to his three decades worth of experience in federal politics and governance.
“I am not alien to the political arena in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.
Prior to setting up Warisan, he had been one of Umno’s vice-presidents but was sacked by then-party president Najib Abdul Razak for raising concerns about the 1MDB scandal.
Shafie recalled how he had also helmed posts in Umno Youth and in the party supreme council.
Between 1999 and 2015; he had served as either minister or deputy minister in a slew of ministries including Defence; Housing and local government; Domestic trade and consumerism; National Unity, arts, culture and heritage; as well as Rural and Regional Development.
New opposition front needed
During today’s interview, Shafie noted how Pakatan Harapan and its allies had been able to win in GE14 by rallying the people over issues like corruption, 1MDB and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
For GE15, he said the opposition lacked issues to “bond” the people against Perikatan Nasional.
Grilled if Warisan will be aligning itself with Pejuang’s Dr Mahathir Mohamad instead of Harapan, Shafie answered that his party was aligned to “all opposition leaders”.
As proof, he pointed to how all 108 opposition MPs had voted against the budget on Tuesday.
“We were there (to) stand united for a common interest. But it doesn't mean that it is good enough for us now.
“To win the hearts of Malaysians, we (need to) have a recipe that we can present for the coming GE15,” he opined.
One of the ingredients, he said, was to platform “formidable young leaders”.
“I can see there are formidable young leaders within the opposition who can offer themselves to be the future of the country [...]
“Yet unfortunately they don't have the opportunity to surface as alternative leaders,” he said.
Asked which leaders he had in mind, he could only name one candidate but said PKR and DAP also had good leaders.
“I leave it to all the members we have in Harapan (but) of course there are leaders who can offer themselves who are quite vocal.
“You can hear (that) coming from (Muar MP) Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (and) from all these young leaders around in PKR and DAP,” he answered.
“I think it’s time for us to move forward,” Shafie added. - Mkini
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