SEMPORNA: The overwhelming turnout of Parti Warisan Sabah supporters at many nomination centres in the state today will propel the party to work even harder in promoting the message of change and convince the people to vote for the new local opposition party.
President, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, however, had a strong message to his candidates when he told them not to be overly confident with this morning’s show of support.
“Don’t be complacent. Keep working hard. Go down to the ground to reach out to the people. We will only find out how we have done on 9 May when the people come out to vote,” he said.
“Don’t think that when you see so many people carrying flags for you, that is an indication that you will win,” he said adding that they will only find out when all the votes have been counted,
He said this at a media conference at his house in Semporna today.
He stressed that Warisan will see its candidates fighting their opponents in 17 parliamentary seats and 45 state constituencies which include Moyog.
Earlier in the day, Shafie submitted his papers at the nomination centre in town. He was accompanied by thousands of supporters, far outstripping the BN crowd.
He will see Datuk Ramlee Marahaban of BN, Asmara Asmad (Harapan Rakyat) and Abdul Nasir Abdul Raub (PAS) in the contest for the parliamentary seat of Semporna.
In the state seat of Senallang, Shafie has a straight fight with his cousin, Datuk Nasir Tun Sakaran.
When asked, the incumbent Semporna member of parliament said it was not unusual to have competitions or contests within a family, and that included political rivalry due to different political beliefs.
He pointed out that even when he was still in Umno, he had competed against his cousin for party posts.
Shafie also denied a claim that has since gone viral over social media, that Warisan apparently had won four seats due to ‘walkerovers’ in Senallang, Likas, Keningau and Bugaya.
“All our candidates will face contests from our opponents, whether from the BN or from other opposition parties,” he said.
He said he would be meeting his local leaders and supporters today and tomorrow before going on his final statewide tour to drum up support for Warisan as well as its Pakatan Harapan electoral pact partners.-Pr/BNN
