KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (pic) has contacted his "old friend" Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, the former president of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), which rejected an electoral pact between the two parties.
"I just talked to him as an old friend," Shafie told reporters when asked about his telephone conversation with Kitingan, the founding president of PBS and an advisor to the party which is currently led by Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili.
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Their conversation came after Ongkili rejected Warisan's overtures to work on an electoral pact in GE15.
PBS is a member of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and has pledged its support for the ruling state coalition amid unhappiness among senior party members on seat allocations for the party, which have yet to be finalised.
"We spoke generally on current issues," Shafie told reporters after naming Warisan's candidates for the three Chinese seats of Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau on Sunday (Oct 30) night.
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Kitingan, the Huguan Siou (paramount leader) of the native Kadazandusun community, has been pushing for Sabahans to support local party representatives in Parliament.
Shafie, who has been naming some candidates while launching party election machinery, has held back so far on announcing contests for the native Kadazandusun and Murut interior constituencies of Keningau, Tenom and Pensiangan.
On Sunday, he named three young professionals and political novices – Amanda Yeo, 29, for Kota Kinabalu; Alex Thien, 31, for Sandakan; and KC Chen, 28 for Tawau, their youngest so far.
