Kota Kinabalu: Parti Warisan (Warisan) President Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said the party will contest all 25 parliamentary seats in Sabah and the sole parliamentary seat in Labuan in the coming 15th General Election (GE15).
The incumbent Semporna MP said the party aims to bring complete reformation to Sabah’s political landscape and administrative systems.
“We want to reset Sabah. Reset the administration and ways of management at the State-level. We want to reset the mindset and the way politics is run in Sabah.
“This is why we will likely contest all 25 seats (and Labuan). If there is a hindrance, we will make some adjustments,” he told a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Kolombong, here, Wednesday.
Shafie, who is also Senallang Assemblyman, said the party would also contest several seats in seven states in the peninsula, namely Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Johor, Penang and Kelantan.
He said Warisan will field both old and new faces as well as female and younger candidates. However, he stressed that the core strategy would be to field winnable candidates regardless of age, gender or party rank.
“What is important is to ensure victory. Of course, gender (and youth) representation is important, but if we field them and they do not win, it is no use.
“Election is about winning. We must have the numbers, it is very crucial for us, but we do take these aspects (gender and age) into consideration,” he said.
He also stressed that party division leaders or those with positions would not necessarily be fielded, thus he hoped that it would not prompt party members to be upset and boycott the party.
He said the candidates list, which will also comprise high-calibre working professionals, will be announced at a later date.
With Warisan severing ties with Pakatan Harapan (PH), it is known that the party is going solo in GE15. However, Shafie has openly stated his willingness to work with local parties such as Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).
“What is important is (collaborations) must be in tandem, we must have the same frequency when we decide on certain fundamental policies to ensure Sabah is on the right footing.
“We want a local party in Sabah. We do not want a coalition with a party where when we are trying to fight for something, (their central leadership) in Kuala Lumpur has decided differently,” he said.
On flood concerns in view of the Northeast Monsoon season, Shafie said he has informed the party to prepare small boats in flood-prone areas such as Penampang and Sepanggar to ensure voters can get to the polling centres and cast their ballots.
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