Sabah polls: Runner-up Warisan coy on next step, says no talks with BN on forming state government
A day after his party finished second in the election, Warisan president Shafie Apdal said it has proven itself by winning the popular vote across all 73 seats.
Warisan president Shafie Apdal addresses the media on Nov 30, 2025 in Kota Kinabalu following the Sabah state election results. (Photo: Â鶹/Zamzahuri Abas)
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KOTA KINABALU: A day after his party failed to beat the incumbent ruling coalition in Sabah’s state election, Warisan president Shafie Apdal remained coy on whether it would remain in the opposition.
“We will see,” Shafie said when asked about the matter at a press conference on Sunday (Nov 30), hours after rival Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)’s leader Hajiji Noor was sworn in as chief minister for a second term.
Shafie said that joining the state government must not compromise Warisan’s ability to represent the people’s interests.
“I don’t want a situation where, just because I want to form the government, the people are sidelined,” he said. “We must be bold and decisive but we don’t mind working with the local parties.”
The 68-year-old however denied holding discussions with leaders of other parties, including the Barisan Nasional (BN) pact, to negotiate the formation of a new government.
The Election Commission announced in the early hours of Sunday that GRS had won 29 seats, while its ally Pakatan Harapan (PH) - led by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim - secured one seat through the premier’s own Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
Warisan, a bitter rival of the GRS-PH bloc, came in second with 25 seats. BN won six seats.
Although no coalition or party crossed the 37-seat threshold required for a simple majority in the 73-seat assembly, GRS-PH had claimed that it had enough seats with other parties to form a coalition government.
The swearing-in of GRS’ Hajiji as chief minister on early Sunday also suggests that GRS-PH has first dibs at forming the next government with at least seven more seats from other parties to claim a simple majority.
Under Sabah’s constitution, the governor can appoint a chief minister who he thinks commands majority support among the state’s lawmakers, as opposed to an individual from the party with the most seats in the state assembly.
As yesterday’s polls ended in a hung assembly, Shafie was asked whether he had been approached by other parties to form a coalition government.
Local media had reported that Shafie met Sabah UMNO chief Bung Moktar Radin to discuss forming a new state government. UMNO is the lynchpin party of BN.
“I did not have any meetings with any leaders since last night … I just went to rest,” Shafie said.
Asked specifically if he had met with BN leaders, he replied: “We will only meet at the state legislative assembly.”
Before Saturday’s polls, the Sabah state government was led by GRS, an alliance of several local parties, and the Anwar-led PH. The opposition comprises Warisan and BN.
BN left the coalition state government in 2023 when some of its members failed to topple incumbent chief minister Hajiji’s leadership in a political crisis known as the Kinabalu Move.
At the federal level, BN and GRS remain part of Anwar’s government.
SHAFIE AND ANWAR ON ELECTION RESULTS
Speaking at Sunday’s press conference, Shafie also said that his party has proven its ability by winning the popular vote across 73 seats.
Warisan is the only party to contest all 73 seats, while GRS contested 55 seats.
“We are only a single party but GRS is an alliance of many parties, so there are no regrets, I appreciate the Sabahans’ support for us,” Shafie said.
He also specifically thanked the Chinese community, after Warisan wrested several Chinese-majority urban constituencies from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which lost all eight seats it contested.
Among the majority-Chinese urban seats that Warisan clinched are Tanjung Aru, Luyang, Likas and Api-Api.
Analysts previously said that the Sabah for Sabahans sentiment could affect the PH coalition and make it more “complicated” for its component parties such as DAP to improve their performance from the last election.
The sentiment is based on the argument that local parties, instead of peninsula-based parties, can more firmly push the federal government for the state’s full autonomous rights.
In the 2020 Sabah election, DAP had won six seats while in an alliance with Warisan.
When asked if he will be fighting for the chief minister’s post, Shafie said: “I will fight for the people’s interest.”
“We will make sure to continue fighting for our rights in Sabah,” he added.
Meanwhile, commenting on the polling results, PM Anwar said that the federal government respects the clear and bold message sent by Sabah voters urging for real change.
"They are demanding real change after being faced with injustice and neglect by almost all parties," Anwar wrote on Facebook.
“In the past three years, the Madani government has been working on solving all issues we have inherited, including the issue of Sabah’s rights and claims.”
Anwar also congratulated Hajiji, Sabah’s newly-appointed chief minister, for receiving a mandate to form the government.
