S’wak parties don’t need Sabah presence to fortify Bornean bloc, says Shafie

KOTA KINABALU: A Sarawak-based party does not need to enter Sabah to strengthen cooperation among the Bornean states, says Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He said Sabah should resolve and overcome its own problems at the state level, and only then would it be able to reinforce the Borneo bloc.

Shafie was responding to media questions Saturday (July 6) when asked about Parti Bangsa Malaysia’s (PBM) intention to contest the upcoming 17th Sabah state election.

He said cooperation between Sabah and Sarawak did not mean PBM had to stand here.

“The bloc is important because both regions formed the country under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

“Our voices can be heard but before that, what is important is (to sort out) administrative management at (state) level,” he said after a meet-the-people programme in Kg Sembulan Tengah here.

“We have never even volunteered to contest in Sarawak. There are only 25 Parliament seats in Sabah while Sarawak has 31.

“As for the state legislative assembly, (it does not matter) how many seats there are, it also does not mean that for regional cooperation (to exist), a Sarawak party must contest here,” he added.

He also said the people of Sabah should be aware that if such plans went ahead, it may not be their voices heard in the future but only the voices of external parties.

“Tomorrow, if there is a problem, the voice of the party will not be the voice of the people of Sabah. Which is more important?” he asked.

Shafie, the Semporna MP and Senallang assemblyman, said there were already existing examples of outside parties in the state that had promised to resolve many problems.

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“But what happened? We don’t even see their faces,” he said.

Warisan remains in the opposition at the state level although it is part of the unity government at the federal level.

Earlier in his speech, Shafie hinted that the party might go it alone in the next state election and said a single party can rule the state.

“Sabah was under one single multiracial party rule during the Berjaya era,” he said, adding that Warisan was also prepared to go solo.

The state election is due in October next year.

PBM, which has its headquarters in Kuching, also supports the unity government at the federal level and has branches throughout the country, including in Sabah.

Its president is Larry Sng, the Julau MP and PBM’s sole elected representative at present.

On June 29, Sng said at the launch of the party’s Donggongon liaison office that it would contest the upcoming Sabah elections solo.