Kota Kinabalu: Warisan’s chest thumping about being a local Sabah party no longer holds water following its expansion into Peninsular Malaysia four years ago which ended disastrously, said former party leader Norazlinah Arif.
The former Warisan women’s chief said the move — widely seen as a strategy to project party president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal as a prime ministerial candidate — reflected a shift away from putting Sabah first.
The Kunak Assemblywoman claimed that Shafie was more focused on leading Putrajaya, despite managing the state poorly between May 2018 and September 2020, during his tenure as chief minister.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});“Sabah lacked proper governance, yet he (Shafie) had national ambitions. His heart was not set on putting Sabah first and leading it to greater heights.
“His personal ambitions go far beyond the state’s borders,” she said.
In 2020, Warisan decided to spread its wings to the peninsula, establishing branches and divisions in Johor and Selangor — states with a high concentration of Sabahans.
It officially launched its West Malaysian chapter the following year.
However, the party failed to win any of 25 seats it contested in Peninsular Malaysia in the 2022 general election.
It also performed poorly in Sabah, managing to retain only three of the eight seats it won in the 14th general election.
Among the casualties were Deputy President Datuk Darell Leiking and Information Chief Datuk Azis Jamman who failed to defend their Penampang and Sepanggar seats, respectively.
Separately, former Warisan Supreme Council member Mohammad Mohamarin said the party’s foray into West Malaysia caused discomfort among some of its leaders.
He said the resignation of former vice-president Datuk Peter Anthony — just days after Warisan formalised its West Malaysian expansion — was indicative of internal discord over the party’s strategic direction.
“Warisan used to promote itself as a local party that championed the people’s cause, but they don’t anymore.
“It is also unlikely to dominate Sabah politics in the future,” said the Banggi Assemblyman, who quit the party more than two years ago.