Kota Kinabalu: Warisan President Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said the time may come when the party he formed may be led by a Chinese or a KDM (Kadazandusun, Murut and Rungus).
“To me, it is a platform that does not belong to me, but to all Sabahans,” he said, when met at the Lantern Festival on Saturday.
He said the division among Sabahans in the past was caused not only by race and religion, but also by differences in political parties.
“We have been divided for too long. Because of what? Race and religion, and not only that, but also parties. That is why we formed a multiracial party to make sureWarisan becomes a platform that unites the people at the same level,” he said.
The former Chief Minister also said Sabah needs to reassess itself after 63 years of the formation of Malaysia, including looking at what has been done for the people and the younger generation of the state.
On the domestic front, he said the party remains open to exploring political cooperation with Star and other local Sabah parties ahead of the 16th general election, although no formal pact has been finalised.
“Star still supports the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government, but that does not mean we cannot work together.
“I also support the government in Kuala Lumpur (the Unity Government), but here in Sabah, I have made it clear that we want Sabah to be governed by Sabah parties.
“What matters is how to unite the people, not just the parties,” said Shafie.
He said cooperation with other parties does not mean every position held by the parties involved has to be the same.
Star President Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan had earlier taken the stand of supporting the GRS government for the sake of political stability, even though the party is no longer an official component of the coalition.
Jeffrey said in August that Star was open to studying Warisan’s proposal for cooperation among Sabah local parties.
