Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal. -filepic
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal hopes that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) will not set up a branch in Sabah.
“I hope it does not happen,” he said when commenting on former Sabah Umno chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor’s confidence that Bersatu will definitely spread its wings to Sabah soon.
He said there is no need for Bersatu to set up a branch in the state because his Parti Warisan Sabah and Bersatu have a “sibling relationship” through an understanding they arrived at before the May 9 polls last year.
“We have an agreement. Warisan and Bersatu are adik beradik (siblings), we are one with Bersatu.
“Bersatu made it clear that time before the elections that they did not need to come to Sabah as they already have Warisan in Sabah.
"I hope that understanding remains,” he told reporters after attending the Chinese New Year open house in his home in Semporna on Thursday (Feb 7).
Shafie said that he has spoken to Bersatu leadership and expressed his view that they maintained that political relationship in Sabah.
He also said that multiracial Warisan has a similar political focus on protecting bumiputras and, as such, there is no need for Bersatu, which champions the cause of bumiputras, to duplicate the task in Sabah.
During the elections, he said Warisan had managed to win state and parliament seats in most areas across the state, which reflected the support of bumiputras and other communities for the party.
He said other national parties, like DAP, have long had a presence in Sabah and is more centred on the Chinese community while PKR is a multiracial party.
Warisan is not a member of Pakatan Harapan but is “friendly” to the ruling coalition. It leads Sabah state’s coalition government with Sabah DAP, Sabah PKR and Upko.
The coalition commands more than two-thirds of the 65-member state house.
On Wednesday (Feb 6), Hajiji, who led 18 lawmakers and 21 division chiefs out of Umno and is currently Sulaman assemblyman, told reporters that Bersatu would definitely set up in Sabah soon.
This is despite political doubts over the move, with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad saying that the party would not come to Sabah.
Bersatu secretary-general Marzuki Yahya told Malaysiakini on Wednesday (Feb 6) that Bersatu is prepared to set up a chapter in Sabah but that discussions are still ongoing with Warisan and Pakatan parties.
He told the online news portal that any decision will only be made after the March 2 Semenyih by-election.
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