SABAH-BASED party Warisan aims to win at least 15 federal seats in six states on the peninsula to give the party a wider influence over national politics, party sources said.

Sources told The Malaysian Insight Warisan intends to contest in Johor, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah.

These are on top of the 15 parliamentary seats in Sabah for which the party will run.

However, political analysts said Warisan was unlikely to claim the seats it is eyeing on the peninsula, saying the party which was formed just before the last general election had done little work in West Malaysia.

International Islamic University of Malaysia assistant professor Dr Lau Zhe Wei said the party is unfamiliar to West Malaysians voters beyond the face of its president Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He said that Warisan’s performance in the Johor elections is a good indication of how it would fare on the peninsula in a general election.

“Shafie Apdal has a good image and is really popular but Johor voters did not vote for Warisan.

“When we look at the Johor results, we see that Warisan did not enjoy any form of support,” he said.

He said it will be difficult for Warisan to compete with Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Harapan as these two powerhouses have bigger resources and reach.

Merdeka Center’s research manager Tan Seng Keat said Warisan would only be splitting the vote for PH on the peninsula.

“I don’t think Warisan has a chance to make inroads on the peninsula. Voters are also unfamiliar with Warisan and Shafie.

“And he has lost credibility after losing the Sabah chief minister’s post,” he said.

He said Warisan’s debut performance in the Johor elections was obviously “unacceptable”.

Tan said Warisan would struggle over the selection of candidates for the peninsula seats.

“We must observe its candidates before we can comment on the party’s chances.”

He noted that the votes in the peninsular would be divided among BN, PH and Perikatan Nasional, and said it would be a better deal for Warisan to win big in Sabah and then negotiate and cooperate with Peninsular Malaysia parties.

Aiming big

Party sources said they are confident of doing well in the GE on the peninsula in GE15 as long as Warisan has the right candidates.

They said parties with a good reputation have a chance of breaking through amid a larger pool of party contestants. 

In the 2018 general election, Warisan stood only in Sabah, where it won eight parliamentary seats. It also won enough state seats to claim power.

However it lost the state elections last year.

At the next polls, Warisan is aiming to retain its parliamentary seats as well as wrest at least three PH seats  –DAP’s Sandakan and Tenom and PKR’s Tawau.

“It looks like these three seats are winnable,” said a source.

The Malaysian Insight reported yesterday that Warisan was targeting six parliamentary and 10 state seats in its first foray into Penang.

Its state chief Jeff Ooi said the party was optimistic about winning some seats as he believed the three-party PH, especially PKR, was going through a hard time. – August 22, 2022.