Warisan information chief Azis Jamman said the party was not weakened as it still has strong support from Sabahans, according to Utusan Malaysia.

“If we look at the number of votes in the recent general election (GE15), Warisan garnered 24.3% of the votes of 1.06 million eligible Sabahan voters, the highest percentage among all parties (in Sabah).

“Although we have fewer parliamentary seats now (compared to after the 2018 elections), the number of votes that Warisan obtained is far ahead of the others,” the former Sepanggar MP claimed.

Azis also said Warisan only had two MPs and three assemblymen when the party was formed in 2016, but now they have three MPs and 15 assemblymen.

He said support for Warisan was still high, adding that the party will continue to function as a check and balance against the state government.

He also expressed confidence that the assemblymen who defected from the party will be punished by the voters during the next elections.

“Look at what happened to the traitors involved in the Sheraton Move. Nearly all of them were defeated, some even lost their deposits,” he said.

Petagas assemblyman Awang Ahmad Sah became the latest Warisan elected representative to quit the party on Monday, joining Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor’s Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat).

Awang Ahmad, who was also Warisan’s treasurer-general before his departure, said he left the party so he could serve his constituents better.

He became the fourth Warisan elected representative to quit the party this year, after Mohammad Mohamarin (Banggi), Chong Chen Bin (Tanjong Kapor) and Norazlina Arif (Kunak).

Their exits came after the failed attempt to unseat Hajiji by Shafie and Sabah Barisan Nasional chief Bung Moktar Radin.

Warisan now has 15 assemblymen in the 79-member Sabah state assembly, while Hajiji has the backing of 49 assemblymen.