KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan prefers the Bugaya state seat by-election to be held with the soon-to-be called 15th general election.
Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said though the party was keen to win back the seat held by them, it would be more cost effective and practical for the by-election to be held together with the general election.
"It is up to the Election Commission to decide on the dates as under the law an election should be held within 60-days," he said when asked about the lifting of localised Covid-19 emergency at Bugaya in Semporna district on Oct 6.
The localised Covid-19 emergencies were in place in Bugaya, the Parliament seats of Batu Sapi in Sandakan and also Grik following the deaths of the incumbents.
Under election laws any vacancies that fell within two years before the end of the five-year term of Parliament needed to be filled.
As such, Batu Sapi and Grik by-election needed to be held as the current term of Parliament ends in July next year.
Shafie, who was speaking to reporters at the Warisan headquarters here Sunday (Oct 9), said that if the by-election goes ahead for Bugaya they were ready as they already had a few suitable candidates in mind.
"I don't want to push for the by-election, that's what I have said.
"We are ready anytime but if it is held at the same time as the general election, it is better, reduce the expenses of the government which is already facing a lot of debt," he added.
Bugaya incumbent Warisan assemblyman Datin Manis Muka Mohd Darah died on November 17, 2020 due to medical complications.
She had just retained the seat during the Sept 2020 Sabah state snap election.
On a question whether he believed the Parliament would be dissolved before Budget 2023 was passed, Shafie said that it had happened in 1999 when elections were called immediately after the Budget was tabled.
"Whatever, it is we are prepared for election this year or next year," he said, adding that the party has identified candidates for seats it will contest.
He said Warisan would focus on Parliament seats in Sabah and a several seats in the peninsular Malaysia where leaders have asked to provide an alternative platform for them to contest.
However, Shafie did not disclose the number of seats Warisan would contest.
On a recent call by a Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) youth leader for PBS and Warisan to consider working together in the coming General Election, Shafie said that Warisan was open to working with local Sabah parties including PBS.
However, he said that PBS (who is a member of the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), had turned it down.
"I've said it many times, we leave it to their (PBS) leadership," he said, adding that Warisan was prepared to go it alone in Sabah.
