KOTA KINABALU - Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal denied that the party was not accepted in the Peninsula following the defeat of their six candidates in the Johor State Election last Saturday.
He said even though it was less than a month since they launched Warisan in Johor; yet, they received many supporters at the national level last December.
"I know it’s not a good decision, this is a trial at an early stage. However, we have to prepare ourselves first.
"I need to know the structure to mobilize members at the Johor state level. It is not 100 per cent rejection. This is a common defeat like Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), DAP, Pas and Amanah, experienced in Sabah before, "he said to reporters at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), on Tuesday.
When asked for more information, the former Sabah Chief Minister did not dispute that state sentiment had a role in Warisan's defeat during the PRN.
"There is no disagreement regarding the leadership, but it is about the party, as many other parties, including DAP and Barisan Nasional (BN), who played up that there is no need for the presence of a Warisan-affiliated party in the Peninsula.
"This does not mean that Warisan is a Sabah-based party while the leadership is from Sabah, there is also leadership from the Peninsula today," he stated.
In this regard, he repeated Warisan’s aim is to unite Malaysians across the board despite race and ethnicity.
In the Johor state election, Warisan nominated six candidates from 56 seats in the Johor State Assembly (DUN), but all six seats were lost.