The Registrar of Societies (ROS) has allowed the renaming of an existing party taken over by former minister Shafie Apdal to Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan).

He had recently taken over the original Parti Pembangunan Warisan Sabah which was established in 2013.

ROS also approved the logo and constitution in Shafie's application.

Shafie is the new president of Warisan while former PKR Penampang parliamentarian Darrel Leiking is the new deputy president.

Likas assemblyperson Junz Wong and Sulabayan assemblyperson Jaujan Sambakong who left DAP and Umno respectively, are appointed vice-presidents.

The third vice-president is Peter Anthony, who also heads the organisation Kadazan Dusun Murut Malaysia (KDM Malaysia).

Loretto Padua Jr, the former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secretary-general who joined PKR in 2013, is secretary-general.

The multiracial Sabah-based party now has four lawmakers, including Moyog state assemblyperson Terence Siambun, who quit PKR for Warisan.

Former Sabah PKR chief and Klias state assemblyperson Lajim Ukin who also recently quit PKR is not part of Warisan. Some news reports claim that he will form another party in Sabah.

When asked about this, Shafie said, "I don't know, he did not tell us. Never mind, we will wait (and see)."

'No poaching of Pakatan reps'

Shafie said his party is currently working on identifying the candidates for the next general election but there has been no discussions with other parties thus far.

He however did not rule out the possibility that Warisan might negotiate and work with PAS in next polls.

"If they are willing to topple the current government, why not?... We cannot realise it without working with anyone else, (the process) should be inclusive."

Shafie, however did not provide a direct answer when asked if Warisan would be able to work with Pakatan Harapan after it accepted three lawmakers from the coalition.

"We are looking into... We can't say we have discussed it," he responded.

Shafie denied accusation that he paid these lawmakers to switch camps.

Sabahan has wanted a local party and they are of the view that Warisan's existence will not split the opposition, he stressed.

The Semporna MP also said his party opposed the private member's bill motion brought by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang on Act 355 or Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act.

Shafie, after quitting Umno, said on July 4 his new party would attract large numbers once it was set up.

The former Semporna Umno chief said this after Umno suspended his membership in a controversial party purge, that also saw the sacking of former deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin and former Kedah menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir.

All the affected leaders had been highly critical of Umno president Najib Razak and his leadership, in particular over the 1MDB scandal.

Shafie's suspension at the time also saw the departure of Umno Semporna deputy chief Jaujan Sambakong, along with three wing chiefs and 300 branch chiefs on June 27.

Olive branch from DAP?

Meanwhile, Sabah DAP chief Stephen Wong Tien Fatt congratulated Shafie over developments with Warisan and expressed DAP's willingness to cooperate.

"We are waiting (and viewing this) very positively to work together for the betterment of Sabah and to fight for the rights of Sabahans.

"We are willing to cooperate with any local or (national) party as long as we have same objective - that is to ensure a one-on-one fight against BN in the coming general election," Stephen Wong told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

When pressed for details, Wong said the matter was pending discussions.

But for now, Stephen Wong believed that even if there is no formal coalition before entering the elections, there is room for cooperation.

"If it is a (formal) coalition, and all (coalition members) are sincere, I think we can cooperate.

"Any cooperation needs to be sincere because we also see that some people might not be truly sincere," he said.

Wong and Sabah DAP's position on Warisan appeared to have softened following Junz Wong's exit from DAP.

At the time, Stephen Wong and other DAP leaders had strongly condemned Junz Wong for "frog hopping".

Separately, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) offered Warisan its hand in friendship.

"We are confident that Warisan's struggle is in line with Bersatu.

"We can't wait to extend our hand in friendship, to build strong ties which will shape a bright future for our country," Bersatu secretary-general Shahruddin Md Salleh said.