Norazlinah Arif, the party’s former Wanita chief, claimed there was internal dissatisfaction with Shafie Apdal’s leadership between May 2018 and September 2020, particularly over the appointment of state department heads.

The Kunak assemblywoman said Warisan failed to uphold its own “unity” slogan when it ran government, instead allowing widespread nepotism in appointments to senior positions.

“It’s not just the Chinese. Other races also do not feel Warisan is fighting for Sabah anymore,” she told FMT.

Norazlinah, who left Warisan on Feb 6, 2023, said the party’s decision to exit Pakatan Harapan and contest the 15th general election independently has complicated its relationship with Chinese voters.

GE15 saw Warisan lose the Penampang and Sepanggar seats to PH.

Ahead of the upcoming Sabah polls, Shafie recently unveiled the party’s new “Save Sabah” slogan, positioning Warisan as a Sabah party to win voters over.

However, Norazlinah said such rhetoric would only lead Warisan to repeat its defeat in the 2020 state election, when the party lost control of the Sabah administration.

“How can we believe in a party, which was supposedly established on the basis of unity, but only focuses on certain communities?” she said.

Mohammad Mohamarin, another assemblyman who left Warisan together with Norazlinah, said the “Save Sabah” slogan fails to address basic issues such as water, electricity and roads.

The Banggi representative said the party’s narrative makes Sabah seem like it is in dire straits, even though chief minister Hajiji Noor has been working hard to resolve the state’s longstanding issues.

“In the Warisan state government, we waited for over two years for initiatives to resolve these issues. We were forced to meet with the chief minister (Shafie) but received no aid.

“The current (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah) state government has implemented many initiatives, so the notion that Warisan will ‘save Sabah’ is not accurate,” said the former Warisan supreme council member.