SANDAKAN – United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) information chief Peter Jr Naintin has rebutted allegations that his party’s actions contributed to the defeat of Warisan-Plus in the 2020 Sabah election.
He aimed to clarify misconceptions among the public, stressing that multiple factors influenced Upko’s securing only one seat during the state polls.
“Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said that Upko wanted 20 seats, was given 18 seats (to contest), but won only one. But this is inaccurate. Upko contested only 12 state seats at the time.
“He painted the narrative as if Upko was weak and had contributed to Warisan-Plus losing the election. But this is not true,” Naintin told Scoop today.
He refuted Shafie’s assertion that Upko’s purported weakness led to Warisan-Plus’s electoral loss.
A recent report in The Borneo Post quoted Shafie, alleging that Upko had requested over 20 seats for the 2020 state polls but had achieved minimal success.
Naintin clarified that Upko never sought 20 seats, highlighting the illogical nature of Shafie’s claims.
He attributed Upko’s electoral challenges to the prevailing sentiment among the Kadazandusun Murut (KDM) community, which views Warisan as a “foreigner party”.
“It was difficult to win the KDM seats because the people criticised Upko for being close to what they called a ‘foreigner party’. That had greatly impacted the party’s strength,” he said.
Naintin further asserted that Upko did not solely request 20 seats; they were also assigned to contest challenging constituencies.
“We requested seats that we wanted, but they also gave us seats that no party wanted. How could we win those seats? We did not even ask for them,” he said, adding that there was also an internal conflict within Warisan-Plus at the time.
With Upko being the sole Sabah-based party within the Pakatan Harapan coalition, Naintin expressed confidence in securing more KDM-majority seats in the next Sabah election.
“We are open to working with any political party for the betterment of Sabahans. We must have one dedicated mission for our future generation – to create and establish the grand policy for Dasar Ekonomi Anak Negeri Sabah,” he said. – May 15, 2024