WARISAN will thrive in Peninsular Malaysia and will overcome any obstacles, a confident party president Mohd Shafie Apdal said today.

Acknowledging possible challenges to overcome in its expansion, he said the party has the experience to deal with them and that it is not a stranger to the political climate on the peninsula.

“We understand that there will be a lot of obstacles. It is never easy, but we have the experience.

“For example, I was Umno Kedah liaison chief for two years when we were the opposition and, during that time, we took over the state from the PAS government.

“So, although there are challenges, the dynamics of politics here are not alien to Warisan.

“We were not just born yesterday to enter Peninsular Malaysia blindly. We know where the bumpy roads are,” Shafie said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur at the launch of Parti Warisan today.

When asked about his party’s plans for peninsula for the next general election, Shafie said he needed to be pragmatic, adding that Warisan would not contest all 222 parliamentary seats.

Shafie said he would discuss it with Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman before making any decisions.

He added that Warisan was never meant for just for Sabah folk, saying the party has been open to Malaysians of all races and religions.

“Our party was not registered in Sabah, it was registered in Putrajaya. If parties like Umno, PKR and PAS can enter Sabah and Sarawak to contest, don’t say Warisan cannot contest on the peninsula,” he said.

The Semporna MP said the fact that his party’s lawmakers are in Sabah does not mean they are not fighting for national cause, while adding that Warisan helped Pakatan Harapan on peninsula in the last general election.

The former Sabah chief minister said the party decided to expand into the peninsula following crises over a range of issues from leadership, to race and religion, to health and the economy. – December 17, 2021.