Warisan ups the ante against DAP, PKR, with Shafie alleging unkept promises

KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal went on the offensive against Pakatan Harapan as talk of the 15th General Election (GE15) gains momentum, claiming DAP and PKR had failed to protect the rights of Sabahans when they were in power.

The Parti Warisan president said when he served as the chief minister, his state Cabinet, which comprised members from the Pakatan component parties, had decided that they should work together to demand for certain rights from the then Pakatan federal government to be returned to the state.

He said he asked then Sabah PKR chief Datuk Christina Liew, who was the former deputy chief minister, as well as DAP leaders such as Phoong Jin Zhe, the former state youth and sports minister, and Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin to bring up the matter with their respective national leaders

“I asked them to voice out for Sabah because this is in the interest of Sabahans,” he said, during a meet-the-people event in the east coast Sandakan district on Saturday (Oct 1).

However, Shafie said he was disappointed with the response he received from the state leaders on their return from Kuala Lumpur.

He said the demands they discussed earlier could not be met, adding that they told him PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and then DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had decided on the matter.

“They (Sabah leaders) said ‘we had to follow the parties’ decisions’.

“Who do they think voted for the DAP elected representatives in Sandakan like (Sabah DAP chief and Tanjung Papat assemblyman) Datuk Frankie Poon and Sandakan MP Vivian Wong? Did the DAP people in KL vote for them or Sandakan residents?

“The ballots were given by Sabahans so why don’t you protect their rights? Why protect the rights of DAP or PKR? The party is not important but people’s rights are,” Shafie said, to rousing applause from the crowd.

Continuing his onslaught on DAP, Shafie also claimed that the party refused to make way for Warisan in any of the Chinese-majority seats in Sabah during the previous snap state election in 2020.

“There were some six or seven Chinese-majority seats and I tried to negotiate with (DAP veteran) Lim Kit Siang and Guan Eng, asking for only one seat for (Warisan vice-president) Datuk Junz Wong to contest but they refused,” he said.

Despite that, the Semporna MP said he and Warisan still continued to help Pakatan as they did previously such as during GE14 when they campaigned for them in the Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu and Tawau seats.

“Guan Eng also promised before GE14 that if we went on to become the government, he said the 40% tax revenue owed to Sabah will be returned to the state.

“He also assured the 20% oil royalty payment will be given to Sabah ... these were all just promises,” Shafie said.

He said this, however, did not mean Warisan held any animosity towards people in Peninsular Malaysia.

“We are not fighting against all the people in the peninsula, we love them. But we don’t want the people of Sabah and Sarawak to be fooled by empty promises,” he said.