Warisan secretary-general Loretto S Padua Jnr told FMT that this figure was only the number of applications which had been approved.

“We still have many more applications which are in the midst of being approved.”

He said Warisan’s roadshows into Sabah’s heartlands have been a success so far, with crowd turnouts exceeding expectations.

“So far we’ve been to Sikuati, Sandakan and Semporna to tell people about our party and explain why we need to kick Umno and Barisan Nasional out of Sabah,” he said, adding a number of branches had already been set up all over the state.

“The response has been phenomenal. In Sandakan some 8,000 people attended our event there with some coming from as far as Beaufort. That is a six hour drive.”

Loretto said those who have been attending the roadshows and who signed up as members were mostly youth from various backgrounds, including those from the Muslim bumiputera, Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) and Chinese communities.

“The people tell us they want Warisan because of its strong leadership under Shafie and a local party to fight for them.”

“Regardless of their backgrounds, their concerns are the same. They are very worried about bread and butter issues, including the rising cost of living and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).”

Loretto said the main challenge so far was that some Sabahans were torn between the many opposition parties.

However, he said Warisan’s main focus now was to unite the people regardless of their political leanings rather than just uniting political parties.

He also noted that even though the party had yet to sell any official merchandise, there were many Warisan supporters in Sabah who have began printing T-shirts and stickers with messages of support for Warisan and Shafie.

The party, which was founded by Shafie and Penampang MP Darell Leiking aims to get a better deal for Sabah, in line with the Malaysia Agremeent 1963.