Warisan vice-president Junz Wong has called on voters to give the party and its ally, Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), the opportunity to lead in the next general election.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Wong said that Malaysians were “badly in need” of a new direction and choice - especially for those who do not intend to cast their vote for the Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional or Pakatan Harapan.
The Tanjung Aru MP said that while there is a desire to see changes in the country, Malaysians no longer viewed Harapan as a viable alternative, given its tremendous losses in the recent Malacca and Sarawak state elections.
“In Malacca, there was an almost 30 percent reduction in Chinese and Indian voter turnout, and even MCA and MIC managed to win seats.
“In Sarawak, we can see that even the Chinese community rejected the DAP. This tells us that the people are disappointed with Harapan,” Wong said.
Harapan secured five seats in the recent Malacca election - a drop from its previous 15 seats in the state.
'Malaysia is short of progressive leaders'
On the other hand, Harapan suffered massive losses in the Sarawak election, bagging only two of the 10 seats it originally held.
According to Wong, Malaysia is short of reform-driven, progressive leaders.
“We believe Malaysians want new leaders, and we feel the country needs to move on from (Harapan chairperson) Anwar Ibrahim and (former prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” he said.
Despite this, Warisan claimed that it was open to working alongside Harapan in the next general election to avoid splitting votes among the opposition parties.
“But we must meet in the middle where leadership is concerned. If Harapan is adamant on their choice of leadership and cannot compromise, then I think it’s quite hard," said Wong.
On Warisan’s recent expansion to Peninsular Malaysia, he claimed the move was a positive development for national politics.
“East Malaysia is known for our multiracial and multicultural harmony. When you look at national parties that were set up here, most, if not all, are race-based.
“Even the so-called multiracial parties are dominated by those from a single racial group, though they have some members from other backgrounds,” he said.
Wong said East Malaysian parties could set the tone for Malaysian politics when it came to matters such as race.
Warisan has established 85 branch offices in Peninsular Malaysia and the party will be focusing on mixed seats in the coming general election.
According to FMT, the party does not plan on fielding Sabahans in West Malaysia or partake in “parachuting” individuals.
“We believe every state has sufficient talent to lead. I don’t believe any state lacks leaders.”
Wong was first elected as the DAP state assemblyperson for Likas in 2013, but he later defected and contested under Warisan in the 2018 general election. - Mkini
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