KOTA KINABALU: The possible cooperation between Parti Warisan and Sabah Umno demonstrates the art of politics, said political analyst Dr Syahruddin Awang Ahmad.
The presence of Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin at Parti Warisan's annual general meeting yesterday raised the speculation of both working together in the upcoming state election.
"Political cooperation within the opposition (bloc) is, of course, closely linked to the survival of party leaders.
"The wisdom of seizing the chance to rise in the state-level political arena can only be achieved if the leaders of the political parties use their respective grassroots to compete with their opponent.
"Even so, the opposition coalition should be able to highlight Sabahan's rights towards the federal government, as this will show that this coalition can actually do something different from what the current government has done," he said.
When asked whether the past performance of both parties in the past elections could affect the chance of the duo winning in the next election, Syahruddin said they could still turn the table.
During the recent by-election in Kemaman, which was Umno's stronghold, its candidate lost to Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar of PAS who secured a landslide majority of 37,220 votes.
During last year's general election, out of 53 parliamentary seats, Warisan only won Semporna, Kota Belud and Lahad Datu seats.
"Yes, it's true to a certain extent that UMNO and Warisan have had an unimpressive reputation in the past due to internal party issues, integrity and the ability to convince voters that these two parties can be champions of the people.
"(However), it would not be difficult for both parties to win back trust from the people if the restitution involved entirely new candidates who brought with them new tactics to regain support from the grassroots, especially in the matter of fighting for the rights of Sabahans and efforts to plan steps to expedite development in Sabah."
Syahruddin, who is also Universiti Malaysia Sabah's (UMS) Borneo Geopolitics electoral studies lecturer, said at present the state government faces challenging issues related to utilities.
He added the price of consumer goods and local development projects are relatively slow.
"Obviously, (these issues) will be a motivation for the opposition to put doubt in the minds and hearts of the people, especially on the government's ability to take care of the welfare of the people," he said.