KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah has brushed off talk that it is going to work with Umno to form a new state government in view of the various political changes and directions nationwide.

       "These are just rumours, our stand is firm," said Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

       While acknowledging that changes needed to be made in politics, he said they had to be made according to the values a party brings.

       "We must look at the values they bring, I have already worked with many parties.

       "I was an Umno member, I worked with Barisan and Pakatan Harapan before and is it my fault that when I see that the political direction is going awry, we change?" he asked.

       Shafie said that Warisan would always act and move according to the current situation, not based on rumours.

       Asked whether Warisan was no longer stable with the two of its members quitting, former vice president Datuk Peter Anthony who was also Melalap assemblyman, and Limbahau rep Datuk Juil Nuatim, Shafie said no.

       He said this was just part of politics and it was one’s choice and right to quit a party.

       Peter and Juil’s defection was seen as a blow to Warisan who was said to be having trouble gaining support from the native Kadazandusun and Murut communities in Sabah.

       Shafie also said that the party had its own strategy to fill the gap left by Peter’s defection and will not do things in a rush.

       He said what mattered most was for a party to stand firm to its cause and agenda, and to fight for it.

       He said Warisan can work with anyone as long as the direction was clear and firm.

       Shafie said Warisan had from the start moved as a multi-racial and multi-religious party, and there was no change to it even with these two leaders out.

       On questions whether he felt that Malaysia needs a deputy prime minister from Sabah or Sarawak, he said that was secondary.

       "It doesn’t matter who is up there because if the leaders that are put in that position do not want to adopt changes, things will always be the same for the nation," he said.

       He said there were already four representatives from Sabah and Sarawak in the Cabinet, therefore there was no reason why they could not speak up for the rights of Sabah and Sarawak.

       With Peter and Juil out of Warisan, the party which previously held 23 state seats was now left with just 17.

       The Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-led state government just needs one more seat to get the two-third majority in the state assembly, now that Peter and Juil have announced that they will form a new party that supports GRS.