“Is Warisan capable of making a difference in M’sia political scene?”

CAN Parti Warisan Sabah take over the role of the opposition parties like PKR and the DAP? Or can it be more multiracial and multi-religious than other opposition parties?

The above are some pertinent questions that I would like to ask. However, I am not sure anybody, including Warisan leaders, will be able to answer the above questions effectively.

Some week ago, I welcomed the entry of Warisan to the peninsular politics on the grounds that the multiracialism in the regions of Sabah and Sarawak is much more progressive compared to what we have in the Peninsula. 

In this regard, the entry of Warisan, a Sabah based party holds promise in terms of de-polarising the society. However, what was said and what might happen with the entry of Warisan remains to be seen.

The party has gone on a aggressive membership drive. It has been announced that some well-known personalities might join the party. It is expanding its wings to states like Penang, Selangor, Johor and others in the recruitment drive.

It is not sure whether Warisan will join forces with other opposition parties like PKR, DAP and Amanah but the move on the part of Warisan to create a better multiracial Malaysia suggests that the multi-racialism of Pakatan Harapan (Pakatan) does not appeal to Warisan.

In other words, both Warisan and Pakatan might be at loggerheads at some point.

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 the DAP.

Such a move might not go well with the DAP, although both the parties have cooperated in the past.

The fact that Warisan’s the focus is more on non-Malays than Malays suggests that the party might be leaving the Malays to the Malaysian Democratic Alliance (MUDA) and Pejuang Tanah Air  (Pejuang).

The most controversial part of Warisan’s entry into the peninsular is not so much its cooperation with MUDA but its secret pact with Pejuang, or its chairman, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. It is rumoured that there is a secret arrangement between Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Mahathir. 

Given the good relationship between Shafie and Mahathir, there is a rumoured that without the latter’s blessing, the former would not have had the confidence to undertake such a task to expand to the peninsula. 

Few years back, Mahathir had expressed openly that he would support Shafie against PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the premiership. 

Perhaps some are saying that Shafie’s entrance into peninsular politics as advised by Mahathir is to block the chance of Anwar becoming the next prime minister of the country.

Since Mahathir has no love lost with DAP or PKR, Warisan’s entry was something that could meet his political expectations.

But if one understand history, even if Shafie had close ties with Mahathir, the future is something different altogether. We all know that an association with Mahathir might be politically suicidal for Warisan, in terms of expecting non-Malay support.

Generally, some sections of non-Malays in DAP and PKR are upset with these two parties because of their 22 months association with Mahathir when Pakatan was the Government.

The question is: how to win over the non-Malays if there are suspicions that Mahathir is the brain behind Warisan? 

What about Indians!

As for the Indian community, I do not see Indians leaving other political parties en bloc to join Warisan.

Just because a son of a former MIC leader had joined the Warisan, it is no indication that the Indians have now warmed up to Warisan.

In fact, getting the support of members of ethnic-based parties does not reflect well on the multi-racialism of Warisan.

While I still welcome Warisan’s entry into the peninsula, I am yet to be convinced that the party has a brand of multi-racialism that is superior to DAP or PKR.

And the fact that Mahathir has close links with Warisan might be the party’s ultimate undoing in Malaysian politics. — Jan 16, 2022.

 

Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.

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