KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan's declaration that it will go solo in the 15th General Election (GE15) will split the Opposition, says Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Frankie Poon.
He said Sabah Pakatan Harapan (PH) and other like-minded parties including the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) would prefer a united front against Barisan Nasional.
Poon was commenting on Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal's media statement after its annual meeting on Saturday (Aug 27) in which he said the party had identified candidates for both state and Parliament seats nationwide.
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"It is regrettable to see Warisan officially declaring it is going into the polls solo," Poon said in a statement on Sunday (Aug 28).
He said Sabah DAP and PH had kept the door open for Warisan to return to the negotiating table even though Warisan leaders had allegedly distributed leaflets attacking its erstwhile allies.
"However, it is unfortunate that it is distancing itself from Pakatan and potentially causing multi-cornered fights," Poon said.
He added that people were also puzzled as to why Warisan had recently started to try and muster support in seats previously won by DAP and PKR in Sabah.
"Shafie's statement of going solo clarifies everything. The people will now judge for themselves who divided the Opposition and betrayed loyal allies," he added.
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Warisan aligned with PH in the 2018 general election but ties soured after the latter lost Putrajaya in 2020 and the defeat of the Warisan Plus state government in the 2020 snap Sabah election.
Warisan, which was against the bipartisan memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government last year, and PH have since gone their separate ways.
Poon said Warisan also took former DAP assemblymen into the party after the 2020 state polls, even though there was strong sentiment against political "frogs" who contributed to the collapse of the Warisan Plus state government.
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He said, however, that DAP accepted Warisan's decision and will move on with building an Opposition coalition to face GE15.
Poon maintained that the MOU with the government helped see that the anti party-hopping law was passed by Parliament and also ensured that justice was done against leaders involved in corruption.
"Sabah is now one of three equal partners in the Federation of Malaysia following a constitutional amendment passed in Parliament through bipartisan efforts," he added.
