Warisan still needs PH despite posing as alternative, says analyst

Sabah-based Warisan has tried to position itself as an alternative to the three big coalitions.

PETALING JAYA:

Warisan will still need to work with Pakatan Harapan if it hopes to make some impact in the next elections, despite trying to position itself as an alternative to the opposition coalition, says an analyst.

Former academic Azmi Hassan said there was not much that Shafie Apdal’s party could offer West Malaysian voters as Warisan was Sabah-based and carried with it the “stigma of fighting only for Sabahans”.

But the party might appeal to voters if it cooperated with Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s Muda since Muda was new and ideologically “refreshing”.

“I consider Warisan-Muda as an opposition pact and it will appeal to supporters who in the first place don’t vote for the government, namely Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional.

“But in order for Warisan-Muda to make a dent in the political arena, they need to work with PH. Or they could be friendly towards BN and PN, similar to what GPS is doing right now,” he said.

Warisan vice-president Junz Wong had recently urged Malaysians to give the party and Muda a chance at the next general election, saying that Warisan can provide the leadership that was lacking in the country.

He said Malaysians still wanted changes but were no longer looking at PH, as shown by the results of the Melaka and Sarawak state elections, where the coalition suffered huge losses.

Azmi said Wong’s reasoning did not hold water since Warisan lost the state government to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah in the 2020 Sabah elections, adding that it meant the party was also to blame for voters’ dissatisfaction.

How Warisan can cash in

But Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said the Sabah election loss was due to Upko’s failure to deliver, and that Warisan had managed to win most of the seats it contested.

He told FMT that Shafie’s words resonated with many who wanted a more progressive Malaysia, while PH’s political understanding with Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government might have caused some to be dissatisfied with the coalition.

“PH could continue to retain whatever supporters that they could retain, and Warisan will be there to scoop up those who are disillusioned or dissatisfied with PH but can’t bring themselves to support PN or BN.

“It is primarily to this cohort that Warisan presents itself as an alternative, with the ardent hope that those who did not bother to come out to vote (in Melaka and Sarawak) would come out to vote for them instead,” he said.

LatestHeadlines

Warisan still needs PH despite posing as alternative, says analyst

Azmi Hassan says although Warisan claims that people are fed up with the big coalitions, the party itself has also been defeated at the polls and has lost power.