Warisan needs leadership change too - PKR man fires back at Shafie

 

Sabah PKR Youth information chief Razeef Rakimin has fired back after Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal suggested that Pakatan Harapan needed a leadership change after setbacks in the Malacca, Sarawak and Johor state elections.

Razeef reminded Shafie that Warisan's debut in Johor not only saw all six of its candidates defeated but all of them also lost their deposits.

"I am of the view that it is time for Warisan to have a change in leadership if they are to keep their deposits in the coming elections.

"There are other Warisan leaders who are capable of bringing change for the better, such as Darell Leiking and Azis Jamman," Razeef said in a statement released today.

Yesterday, Shafie criticised Harapan's poor performance in last Saturday's Johor polls.

“It is high time for changes to be made. It is not for me to tell them to go… but it’s time for them to leave,” he had said.

Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal

Shafie did not mention names but he is known to resent Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim for refusing to make way to him as the opposition's prime ministerial candidate.

Razeef said Shafie would do better to focus on Sabah, reminding him that Warisan failed to retain power in the state during the 2020 Sabah election.

"In Sabah, his party was rejected by the people and they lost the 2020 Sabah election.

"Furthermore, a number of Warisan elected representatives left the party after they perceived Shafie as having failed to defend the rights of Sabahans and had instead shifted his focus to Peninsular Malaysia in his bid to become prime minister," Razeef added.

In the Sabah election, Warisan won a total of 23 out of the 73 seats, making it the largest party in the state.

Sabah PKR information chief Razeef Rakimin

However, its allies could not deliver, thus the Warisan Plus alliance fell short.

Its allies Upko only won one seat while DAP took six and PKR secured two, giving them a total of 32. A total of 37 seats are needed to form the government.

In last Saturday's Johor election, BN won a landslide victory, securing 40 out of the 56 seats in the state assembly.

This was despite only winning 43.11 percent of the popular vote. The major victory was in part attributed to a split opposition.

The three Harapan parties and Muda collectively received 29.87 percent of the votes while Perikatan Nasional got 24.04 percent.

Harapan and Muda won 13 seats while Perikatan Nasional (PN) won in three seats. - Mkini