KOTA KINABALU: The Opposition bloc needs to be united and “rebranded” to face the next general election, says Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (pic).

       The former Sabah chief minister said this when asked what went wrong with Pakatan Harapan and Warisan, as allies, in the attempt to form a government again, prior to the appointment of a new Prime Minister.

       “It’s quite clear the need for the Opposition bloc to be united, but at the same time, (the need to) restructure the system.

       “It is about leadership. It is about the vision they have and it must be well accepted by the people, not only look into the parliamentarian kind of voting ... but more importantly, about facing the next elections with people voting for the new government,” he said in an interview with BFM radio on Wednesday (Aug 25).

       Shafie said that while they have done their level best to gather support to form the next government, the failure to get support for Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Parliament meant they needed to take a good look at what went wrong.

       “Anwar has done his level best to secure (support) but he has failed.

       “So we have to look into the issue that once a leader has failed, we have to look into what are the mistakes, to ensure we are on a better footing in the future.

       “I am trying to be very tactical, but it's a question of leadership here. We have to face it, whether you like it or not.

       “I think we have to somehow portray a new branding of the Opposition,” Shafie added.

       He said Pakatan and allies need to be strengthened ahead of GE15 to appeal to the people at large, like they did before.