KOTA KINABALU: The latest defection of an MP from Warisan will put a damper on the party’s plans to spread its wings to the Peninsula, say political analysts.
The analysts say Warisan’s reputation has been dented with president Shafie Apdal being unable to keep his party intact amid moves by national political parties to muscle in on his five-year-old party.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah senior lecturer Lee Kuok Tiung said the latest departure, by Lahad Datu MP Mohamaddin Ketapi, would be a slap to Warisan’s ambitions to expand and work with the Muda party led by Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
Mohamaddin is the third state assemblyman to leave Warisan, and the first MP to leave since the 2018 general election.
His departure would affect the party leadership’s credibility. “The impression given by Mohamaddin is that there seems to be an internal conflict within his division (Lahad Datu) that contributed to his departure,” Lee said.
The claim of internal friction suggested that all is not well within the party, he said.
However, Warisan would have no problem finding a replacement for Mohamaddin as Lahad Datu, on the Sabah east coast, is considered a Warisan stronghold and the party is still formidable in the opposition, Lee said.
Mohamaddin said that he would become an independent assemblyman supporting the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah government. He claimed there were efforts by members of the Lahad Datu division to replace him.
Pressed to reveal if these individuals included Yusof Apdal, the younger brother of party leader Shafie, Mohamaddin highlighted Tungku assemblyman Assafal P Alian as a possible cause. (Tungku is one of four state seats within the Lahad Datu parliamentary constituency.)
Socio-political analyst Awang Azman Pawi agreed that Shafie’s leadership would be dealt a blow, especially to Warisan’s aspirations of a footing in the Peninsula.
Warisan would also face the threat of more elected representatives defecting as long as it does not reach a political understanding with the ruling government.
He said opposition representatives who choose to leave often used the excuse of not having sufficient development funds for their areas.
Lee said GRS now had a chance to penetrate Warisan’s bastion, with Mohammadin on the side of the loose coalition comprising parties from the Perikatan Nasional and Barisan Nasional as well as Parti Bersatu Sabah.
“But GRS can only give Warisan a run for their money in the east coast if all the parties within the coalition work as one entity. Cooperation between Umno and Bersatu at the national level is weak and this could jeopardise the links in Sabah too,” he said. - FMT
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