KINABATANGAN: In the tail-end of campaigning, Warisan chief Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal urged Kinabatangan residents to back the party to strengthen its voice in Parliament for Sabah’s east and central regions.
Shafie added that dividing votes among multiple parties would weaken the people’s influence in Parliament, while consolidating support under Warisan allows issues affecting Sabah’s less developed areas to be heard.
“We do not want our voices to be split. If Kinabatangan is also Warisan, then the people’s voice becomes united, clear and strong,” he said when met after a campaign talk session at Bukit Garam, here, Thursday (Jan 22).
He pointed to Warisan-held constituencies across Sabah’s east and urban centres — including Batu Sapi, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Semporna, Likas, Kepayan and Kota Kinabalu — saying broader representation under one party would give Sabah stronger leverage when dealing with the federal government.
In the last Sabah election, Warisan won 25 out of 73 seats.
Shafie stressed that Kinabatangan, located between Sabah’s east coast and interior heartland, needed a representative who could do more than speak in Parliament, but actively push solutions through direct engagement with the federal government.
He is confident that Warisan’s candidate for the Kinabatangan seat, Datuk Saddi Abdul Rahman, who was Sukau assemblyman, could represent the people here.
He added that Warisan’s candidate for Lamag, Mazliwati Abdul Malek Chua brought legal experience and a strong understanding of the Malaysia Agreement 1963, which he said was critical in negotiations involving Sabah’s rights and development priorities.
Using Semporna as an example, he said sustained representation had helped unlock tourism growth there, adding that Kinabatangan, with its rivers, biodiversity and natural environment, held similar potential if properly supported and promoted.
“A united voice matters. That is how we can bring real change,” he said.
Meanwhile, the gathering also saw Kinabatangan Umno committee member and Umno Danau Ria branch chief Jibrah Jahaya, as well as Mazlin Madali, Perikatan Nasional’s candidate for Lamag in the last Sabah election, join Warisan.
Jibrah said about 250 Umno members would be joining him, adding that they had lost faith in Umno and Barisan Nasional after the coalition chose Mohd Ismail Ayob, or Miha, as its candidate despite him never having been a member of the party.
