“Malaysians are badly in need of a new hope, a new direction, a new choice especially for those who don’t want to vote Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH),” said Warisan vice-president Junz Wong.

Wong, a former state minister, said Malaysians in general still wanted changes but were no longer looking at PH, as shown by the results of the state elections in Melaka and Sarawak, where PH suffered huge losses.

“In Melaka, there was an almost 30% reduction in Chinese and Indian voter turnout, and even MCA and MIC managed to win seats. In Sarawak, we can see that even the Chinese community rejected the DAP. This tells us that the people are disappointed with PH,” he told FMT in a recent interview.

In Melaka, PH only managed to win five seats compared to the 15 it won in the 2018 general election. A month later, the coalition was nearly wiped out in Sarawak, retaining just two of the 10 seats it won in the last state elections.

Wong said he believes the country lacked a real reform-minded, moderate and progressive and inclusive leader. “We believe Malaysians want new leaders, and we feel the country needs to move on from Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” he said, referring to the PH chairman and Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister.

However Warisan was open to working with PH to avoid a split in votes for the opposition. “But we must meet in the middle where leadership is concerned. If PH is adamant on their choice of leadership and cannot compromise, then I think it’s quite hard.”

Last month, Warisan spread its wings to West Malaysia, and Wong describes this as a positive development for Malaysian politics.

“East Malaysia is known for our multiracial and multicultural harmony. When you look at national parties that were set up here, most if not all, are race-based. Even the so-called multiracial parties are dominated by those from a single racial group though they have some members of other backgrounds,” he said.

Wong said East Malaysian parties could set the tone for Malaysian politics in general, where race relations are concerned.

So far, 85 Warisan branches have been set up in West Malaysia and the party will be focusing on mixed seats at the coming general election. The party was not looking at fielding Sabahans in West Malaysia, nor would it “parachute” in leaders from other states.

“We believe every state has sufficient talent to lead. I don’t believe any state lacks leaders.”