Warisan S Solo Path Shafie Rejects Sabah S Deal Making Politics

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Warisan’s solo election bid is not bravado but Shafie Apdal’s response to Sabah’s political culture, where inducements are mongered for personal gain at the expense of stability.
The Warisan president knows this all too well, having lived through fragile pacts and betrayals by political groups, even by his own men.
He is also aware that most major parties are forging alliances largely in anticipation of a fractured election outcome.
But the Semporna MP insists Warisan must stand on its own.
“To me, when I look at it, we have to have clarity in our minds. Let us be the choice. And the only choice for the Sabahan.
“Only when the time comes, after the election, it’s a different kind of environment. But I cannot give room for people to make speculation, a kind of judgment… Because we are not here driven by greed. We have to resolve the people’s needs now,” Shafie said.
A Warisan officeHe was met by several reporters at his residence in Kota Kinabalu after hosting the US Embassy’s political counsellor, Chris Carver, on Monday.
Lessons from 2018 and 2020
The fear of a hung assembly and the betrayals that followed loom large over Shafie’s position.
In 2018, the state election ended in a deadlock before defections tipped the balance.
Sabah Star initially aligned with BN, but Upko, then a BN component party, switched sides to Warisan.
That, together with support from several Umno assemblypersons, allowed Shafie to form the government.
Sabah state legislative assembly buildingBut that only lasted just over two years.
By mid-2020, former BN leaders who had joined Bersatu, along with defectors from PKR and DAP, moved to help former chief minister Musa Aman reclaim power.
Shafie responded by dissolving the assembly, forcing an election and a clash with federal-level political giants, BN and Perikatan Nasional, that ultimately denied him a second term.
Despite Warisan winning 23 seats, the most for a single party, its ally Pakatan Harapan failed to add enough to the total, denying a majority for Shafie’s “Warisan Plus” coalition.
Afterwards, several Warisan leaders left to back the present ruling bloc under Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) after the 2020 state election.
Buying politicians
Shafie said he faced intense pressures to manage demands from groups within his administration against that backdrop.
At the same time, he alleged that vast sums of resources were used by his detractors to engineer his government’s downfall in 2020, to buy over assemblypersons and secure GRS’ position of power in the state after the election.
Towards this end, the former chief minister argued that too many of Sabah’s elected representatives were motivated by personal gain rather than service.
“Are you struggling for the Sabah people, or are you struggling for your party? For your needs? You must be clear.”
He claimed inducements were the currency of Sabah politics, something he refused to partake in.
“I couldn’t buy YB. If I were a chief minister, I know they bought it. I can call them, how many million did you give them? One million.
“Okay, give them three million so they don’t jump. What position did you give them? I could have done that. But is that the value? The value of me as a politician, a long-time politician in Sabah?”
Pre-election dealings
While GRS and Harapan present themselves as united, Shafie suggested cracks remain.
Some factions, he said, had even approached him to discuss pre-election deals or private arrangements behind the backs of their allies in GRS.
“They were supposed to move out. But until now, they are still there. What is this for? It’s inconsistent with what they’re saying,” he said.
Such manoeuvres, he argued, exposed uncertainty within the existing “big camps” in Sabah and hinted at possible upsets before or after the upcoming state polls.
Gabungan Rakyat Sabah eventShafie pledged to distinguish Warisan by rejecting recycled figures long associated with corruption and warned his own candidates not to blur politics with business.
“For years now, the same kind of character of YBs are there… It’s time for us to unwind this. It’s time for us to say that enough is enough.
“YB, don’t do business. You can ask for projects in your area. But don’t do business. If you do business tomorrow, I expect a letter of resignation.”
Instead of alliances, Shafie said Warisan’s strength lies in its grassroots. The party’s independence, he added, is both a stand against corruption and a matter of consistency.
“Trust is the most important thing. Consistency in what you said. We have been very clear in life. So this is important to us.
“I’ve been there for six years of opposition. If we can hold on for six years, we can hold on.” - Mkini

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