JOHOR BARU: The people of Johor will be the ones who decide who they want to lead them, says Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

       The Parti Warisan president said that he is not here to split the vote for any party but is aiming to win and offer a chance to Johoreans to change the political landscape of the country.

       “Since when did we come here (Johor) to split the votes? We want the people to decide who they want to lead them in the government; not Umno, not DAP, not Bersatu, and not PKR," said Shafie.

       “We are here to ensure that the people will be able to exercise their rights (to choose),” he said when met by The Star after having a meet and greet session with the people in Bandar Seri Alam here on Sunday (Feb 27).

       He said this when asked to comment on DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng's statement saying that Warisan is only contesting in Johor to split the votes for the opposition.

       “I also heard that he (Lim) said that we are not here to win; we are here to win! Just because I did not sign the Memorandum of Understanding between the government and Pakatan Harapan does not make it wrong for Warisan to contest," said Shafie.

       “We have placed six candidates on six seats in the election because Johor will be the starting point for us to change the political landscape of the country,” he added, saying that Warisan is also preparing for the next general election.

       When asked to comment on Umno’s vice-president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin's similar statements, saying Warisan is only making Johor a testing ground, Shafie said that his party is here to offer a choice for the Johoreans.

       “Why can Umno contest in Sabah and Warisan not contest in Johor? Who has the right to decide which party can or cannot contest? We are only here to offer a choice for the people of Johor and we hope we can win every seat that we contested," he added.

       Earlier, Lim was reported saying that Warisan is only contesting in Johor to mess with the votes of the opposition, while Khaled issued a statement saying that Warisan is here to test its market without any solid plan.