Warisan to count on local leaders for Peninsular Malaysia GE15 bid

Warisan will be banking on a new line-up of local leaders from Peninsular Malaysia to lead its 15th general election expansion from Sabah, after a dismal show during its debut in the Johor state election.

Warisan's peninsula chief coordinator Dr Rajiv Bhanot, in an interview with the online portal The Malay Mail, said the party believes in a moderate style of governance that reflects Malaysia's diversity.

Set up as a Sabah-based party, Warisan held its national-level launch in Kuala Lumpur last December, fielding its first set of candidates in six seats during the Johor state polls in March.

Rajiv, however, reportedly said it was inaccurate to pin Warisan’s Johor loss as a reason to doubt its political clout, with only two weeks to build up its election machinery from scratch.

This time, Rajiv said Warisan is better prepared with help of several prominent past lawmakers in the different states, reportedly citing names including former Perlis legislative assembly speaker Abdul Azib Saad; former Kedah state executive councillor Fadzil Hanafi; Penang former Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi; as well as in Perak, S Sunther, son of former MIC deputy president the late S Subramaniam.

“These are all local leaders in their respective states, and this is where we want to break the misconception that it is a Sabah party that is coming over here," Rajiv said.

Since GE14, Rajiv noted that Malaysians suffered from political fatigue with three changes of federal administrations and more at state levels.

"We’ve had political turmoil over the last few years, and we want to provide the voters with a choice.

"We want to provide the voters with a bit of clarity," he said.

"Warisan going into GE15 on our own is something we want voters to know that the party is trying to consolidate itself and we want to move away from politics of hate.

"What's very important is that Malaysia needs a political reset post GE15," Rajiv added.

Warisan, a Harapan ally in Sabah, had initially partnered with Muda for its peninsula debut but did not proceed to enter a pact in the Johor polls or the forthcoming GE15.

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