KOTA KINABALU: The new Sabah state government and Chief Minister candidate will be decided by Sabahans themselves and not an outsider, says Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
Shafie said locals want the state government to be administered by Sabahans themselves.
"Don’t tell us what Sabahan wants. I think most Sabahan know better.
"We want the chief minister and the state government to belong to us," said Shafie to reporters on Nov 20 when met at the sidelines of a campaign trail in Sindumin at Sipitang, located about 130km from Kota Kinabalu.
Shafie appeared unfazed over Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s confidence in achieving a simple majority to form the state government after the state polls on Nov 29.
According to Shafie, this was because cracks are beginning to show within parties in the GRS coalition after dissolution of the Sabah state assembly in October.
"We saw how they were so split. Parties like Sabah STAR and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and now Upko are fighting among themselves in certain places.
"A good example would be in Sipitang and they are so divided. They were there to fight against us in the last election, a united force consisting of not only Umno, GRS and Bersatu, but now they are so divided.
"Can you imagine some candidates from Umno, now standing under PKR in certain places. Bersatu also planted candidates to fight against them in certain places. So, let’s see," said Shafie.
Shafie was responding to Hajiji, who said on Nov 19 that winning 40 seats is not an impossible feat for GRS.
Shafie urged Sabahans who are living abroad to exercise their right to vote in the coming state polls.
"You may be in Singapore, Hong Kong, or working in the peninsula. Please, make an effort to come over and vote for your right," said Shafie.
Shafie also said Warisan’s Yusri Pungut would be the best candidate to represent Sindumin as he is a prominent senior lawyer in Sabah.
"We are providing not only new faces but people with experience to represent us. There is no track record of him being corrupted too.
"So, I’m quite confident. We may not have that sort of money to compete with other parties, but we have a big heart and ambition to ensure we can save Sabah," said Shafie.
Yusri is taking on a 10-cornered fight against Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk Yamani Hafez Musa, Parti Impian Sabah (PIS) Markus Buas, PKS Kanafia Bujang, Sabah STAR Moktar Matusin, Perikatan Nasional’s Dayang Syafiqah Abdul Hamid, KDM’s Sani Miasin and three independents.
A total of 596 candidates from 22 parties will contest in the Sabah polls on Nov 29.
