Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, noting that Warisan planned to position itself as an alternative for those disillusioned with Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional, said it had a “major weakness” in that it lacked appeal to the Malays, who constitute the majority of voters.

“The cruel reality is that Warisan is still widely perceived by many to be a Sabah-based party, and its president, Shafie Apdal, though a Muslim, has been made out by some as not being a Malay,” he told FMT.

He said this was why it needed an ally or allies with Malay support.

Warisan has been setting up branches in the Klang Valley, Perak, Penang and Johor. It is said to be considering the possibility of contesting in the coming Johor elections.

Another analyst, Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara, told FMT he believed Barisan Nasional would make an ideal partner for Warisan since BN had the support of Malays but lacked non-Malay support.

“MCA and MIC just cannot deliver at this point in time,” he said. “So it’ll be a win-win for BN and Warisan to work together.”

He said it would be difficult for Warisan to work with PH given Shafie’s strained relations with the coalition’s chairman, Anwar Ibrahim, as well as PH’s poor performance in the recent Melaka and Sarawak elections.

PH won five out of the 28 seats it contested in Melaka and two out of the 82 seats it contested in Sarawak.

Anantha Raman Govindasamy of Universiti Malaysia Sabah said Warisan’s ability to make a mark in Peninsular Malaysia would depend on whether it could “capture the imagination” of voters, particularly the Malays.

He said working with PH would probably be the best option for Warisan because of the similarity in their ideologies.