
Warisan will contest all 73 seats at the coming Sabah state assembly elections, says party president Shafie Apdal.
Shafie, a former chief minister, said Warisan has identified election candidates based on their winnability, loyalty to the party, and determination to serve Sabahans.
“We will contest all 73 seats. We already have potential candidates. Just wait for the announcement,” Shafie told reporters in Semporna today.
He said it is crucial that these candidates do not switch parties, or stop serving Sabahans, once they are elected. “We don’t want them to close the door on the rakyat once they are elected as that will destroy the party,” he said.
The current state assembly’s five-year term expires on Nov 11 unless it is dissolved earlier to make way for fresh elections.
At the previous elections in 2020, Warisan won 23 of 46 seats contested. Following a series of defections, the party currently holds only 14 seats.
Shafie had stated in March that Warisan would contest the elections on its own, as its pact is “with the people” and not other political parties.
On Sunday, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah chairman Hajiji Noor announced that the Sabah ruling coalition and Pakatan Harapan had agreed to form an alliance for the elections. He said a basic formula was established on seat allocations, with several “minor matters” to be finalised.
However, Barisan Nasional chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi responded by stating that the BN alliance with PH was final and “locked in”, following an agreement made at national level.
His statement was seen as an indication that BN and GRS are likely to clash in the elections.
Sabah Umno and GRS were allies in the state government after the 2020 elections, but Sabah BN chief Bung Moktar Radin led a failed attempt to unseat Hajiji in January 2023 by retracting support for Hajiji.
Hajiji remained as chief minister with the backing of PH, which is now part of the state government while Umno sits in the opposition with Warisan.