IPOH: Perak Parti Warisan (Warisan) is expecting to contest five seats in the 15th General Election (GE15), said its chairman Datuk Seri S. Sunther. However, he said the party has yet to decide whether to contest the parliamentary or state seats and the matter would be discussed at the state and central levels soon.
“It is important for us to conduct an analysis on which constituencies are suitable for us to contest. We need to have a strategic plan and make the right choice or decision,” he said.
On June 18, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said that Warisan would only contest winnable parliamentary and state seats in Perak in GE15.
The Warisan president said the party was currently strengthening the party and five divisions were activated in Perak since last year, Tambun, Ipoh Barat, Ipoh Timur, Parit and Padang Rengas. Sunther denied allegations that about 600 members from eight divisions in the state announced that they have quit the party after losing confidence in the party leadership.
In Penang, Peninsular Malaysia Warisan chief coordinator, Dr Rajiv Bhanot, said Warisan must take a realistic approach if the party decides to contest several seats in the peninsula in GE15.
“We want to contest in strategic seats that we feel the party has a strong chance to win,” he said.
Meanwhile, Warisan Vice-President Junz Wong said the party’s foray into Peninsular Malaysia is to break the racial politics that has been plaguing the region for a long time.
“We want to make the peninsula more like Sabah and Sarawak in terms of its multiracial political culture,” Wong said at the launch of the Penang Warisan chapter here, describing it as a golden opportunity for Malaysians in the peninsula.
“This is the first time. Therefore, we are asking our brothers and sisters in Peninsular Malaysia to give us a chance to create a multiracial Malaysia.
“It’s time to progress as one community to develop Malaysia into what it is supposed to be.”
The party made its debut in the peninsula by contesting six seats in the Johor state elections in March. However, it lost all of them, with the candidates losing their deposits as well.
Jeff Ooi, a former DAP member and Jelutong MP, was announced as the state Warisan chairman while former Bukit Tengah assemblyman Ong Chin Wen, previously in PKR, was made the secretary.
Four former city councillors from the Seberang Perai City Council and Penang City Council – Sharuddin Mohd Shariff, Goh Choon Keong, Zaini Awang, and Akmal Azhar – were also appointed to the state leadership council.
