PARTI Warisan Sabah’s foray into the peninsula will be more meaningful if it forms a pact with Pakatan Harapan (PH), Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy said.

The DAP leader said PH is not the enemy of Warisan as the real enemies are all “dressed up in sheepskin”.

“My advice before further damage is done to the relationship between Warisan and PH: there is an urgent need for a serious dialogue,” he said in a statement today.

“Such a dialogue will serve to define and demarcate areas of work and prepare all the parties not just to face the Johor state elections but the impending general election.”

He said Warisan must be careful in distinguishing its friends and foes.

He said PH is looking forward to having an electoral pact with Warisan in the next general election.

“In fact, PH leaders are asking Warisan to join forces with them to defeat Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Johor state elections,” he said.

“While PH is looking at Warisan as a friend, there is no need for the party and its leaders to disturb the traditional support bases of DAP, PKR and Amanah.”

He said all the bad publicity of Warisan’s drive to recruit former and current DAP and PKR members is not in the long-term interests of the party.

“Just as Shafie (Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal) wants peninsular politicians to be sensitive to the people in Sabah and Sarawak, he must do the same here,” he said.

Ramasamy said recruiting disgruntled former leaders of DAP or PKR may not do anything good for the long-term relationship of Warisan and PH component parties.

“Warisan must understand that without the support of PH, the constitutional amendments restoring the traditional rights of Sabah and Sarawak might not have materialised in the first place,” he said.

“It was Umno/BN that is the real cause of the misery of the people of Sabah and Sarawak.

“Surely Warisan has the commitment to keep the two regions free from the influence of Umno/BN.”

On January 17, Ramasamy said Warisan’s entry into the peninsula will surely cause conflicts with PH, especially DAP, as the Sabah-based party looks to capture non-Malay voters.

He said Warisan is banking on its aim to create a better multiracial Malaysia by moving into the peninsula, adding that this suggests that PH’s multiracialism is not really acceptable to Warisan.

He said Warisan is fast moving around states such as Penang, Selangor and Johor in its recruitment drive.

“In other words, both Warisan and PH might be at loggerheads at some point,” he said. 

“The party’s move in Penang and Selangor suggests its aim to get the support of the non-Malays, particularly the Chinese.

“This means winning over those who are supporting or those disgruntled with DAP. 

“Such a move might not go well with DAP, although both parties have cooperated in the past.” – January 25, 2022.