Who betrayed who, Warisan hits back at DAP

Terrence Siambun.

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan has hit back at its former allies DAP and Pakatan Harapan over allegations of political betrayal.

Party vice-president Terrence Siambun (pic) said Warisan had always given its full support and cooperation to their allies.

He claimed, however, when Warisan was going against Umno and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia in the 2020 Sabah election, Pakatan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was busy attempting to secure the mandate to become the country's top leader in Kuala Lumpur.

"He (Anwar) was busy gathering statutory declarations (SDs) from Umno and Bersatu in his attempt to get a 'strong, formidable, convincing' majority to secure the post of prime minister," he said in a statement here on Tuesday (Aug 30).

He said this was affirmed by Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman in June this year, when he admitted that the SDs to back Anwar as premier were real.

"While Anwar was implementing his plan, Warisan was in a war with Umno and Bersatu in Sabah, the very parties that the Pakatan chairman was cosying up to in order to get SDs.

"DAP was fully aware of what was happening and has been consistently supporting Anwar in his bid.

"Yet, Warisan is accused of betrayal when the party gave its utmost to ensure victory for the then Warisan Plus that consisted of Warisan, Upko and Pakatan. Who betrayed who?" Siambun said.

Sabah DAP chief Datuk Frankie Poon had on Sunday (Aug 28) said Warisan's declaration that to go solo in the 15th General Election (GE15) would split the Opposition.

Poon said Sabah Pakatan and other like-minded parties, including the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), would prefer a united front against Barisan Nasional.

He added that Sabah DAP and Pakatan had kept the door open for Warisan to return to the negotiating table, even though Warisan leaders had allegedly distributed leaflets attacking its erstwhile allies.

"However, it is unfortunate that it is distancing itself from Pakatan and potentially causing multi-cornered fights.

"(Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd) Shafie Apdal's statement of going solo clarifies everything. The people will now judge for themselves who divided the Opposition and betrayed loyal allies," Poon said.

Poon was commenting on Mohd Shafie's statement after its annual meeting on Saturday (Aug 27), where he said that the party had identified candidates for both state and Parliament seats nationwide.

Siambun said Warisan also took issue with the memorandum of understanding Pakatan signed with the government.

Warisan, he said, regarded the inking of the MOU as tantamount to putting a gag order on the Opposition in Parliament and eliminating checks and balances on the government.

"Furthermore, Warisan was not even informed of the decision to sign the MOU. If we were allies, should we not have been told of the matter? Instead we only learned about it from the media," he said.

Meanwhile, Siambun said Warisan had always helped its political partners such as in the Sandakan by-election in May 2019 when DAP won by a whopping majority after winning areas that it had never been able to capture.

It was when Warisan came in to help campaign tirelessly that votes poured in for the DAP candidate Vivian Wong (now Sandakan MP), he pointed out.

"When Pakatan was the Federal government, Warisan made repeated calls for a greater allocation for Sabah, particularly the annual special grant and 40% revenue owed, as stated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

"Unfortunately, despite being allies these calls came to no avail.

"With all these cases in point, is it any wonder that Warisan decided to break away from Pakatan?

"A relationship needs trust as its foundation in order for it to work and unfortunately it is absent in this case," Siambun said.