SakSaMa: Warisan’s ‘olive branch’ to BN ‘not logical’

The realpolitik demands that BN Sabah be fought, as enemies, to the finish, says SakSaMa supreme council member Shamsudin Osman

KOTA KINABALU - SakSaMa, a newly-formed Borneo-based formal opposition alliance, has reiterated that it’s ready to work with Parti Warisan Sabah and others in the opposition including in Malaya (peninsula).

Instead, said SakSaMa supreme council member Shamsudin Osman, Warisan wants to court Barisan Nasional (BN) Sabah parties.

“It’s not logical at all,” he said in an interview.

“We need further and better particulars on the proposed political co-operation between BN Sabah and Warisan.”

Shamsudin, who is also deputy president of Pertubuhan Perpaduan Rakyat Kebangsaan Sabah, a Gabungan Rakyat SakSaMa member, was commenting on a statement by Warisan deputy president Darell Leiking on Wednesday.

He said Leiking’s statement was “full of holes”.

“The opposition cannot base its politics on wishful thinking and live on hope. The realpolitik demands that BN Sabah be fought, as enemies, to the finish.”

In short, he said, it’s not only Umno that should be driven out from power, but BN Sabah as well.

Warisan, he said, needs to forget about its past in BN and instead come to terms with its place in local politics as an opposition party.

Leiking thinks the proposed amendment to Act 355, paving the way for hudud, was the last straw for BN Sabah parties and time to end their relationship with Umno.

Warisan wants to drive out Umno from Sabah, noted Shamsudin. “If that’s the case, what’s his father Marcel Leiking doing in Umno Penampang as a leader?” he asked. “Marcel should leave Umno.”

Also, he noted that Leiking applauded Warisan president Shafie Apdal for standing firm on the 1MDB scandal.

“Shafie stood up, as a Sabahan and as a matter of principle, on the 1MDB scandal,” Shamsudin quoted Leiking as saying.

“Leiking claims that Shafie was against the attempt to make him subservient to the prime minister on 1MDB.”

Interestingly, he pointed out, no one in BN Sabah publicly shares the Warisan deputy’s enthusiasm on Shafie and 1MDB.

“If none of the BN Sabah leaders are willing to query Najib (Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Razak) on 1MDB, why should Leiking be so eager to work with them?” he asked.

“The doors of BN remain closed to Warisan as long as Najib is the party president. It was the Shafie-Najib feud that led to the former being sacked from the federal cabinet.”

Shafie was also susequently suspended as Umno vice president, forcing him to leave the Umno Sabah chapter which he reportedly founded.

By Joe Fernandez