He said having been with Umno for nearly 32 years and being its vice-president, before leaving to form Warisan and working with Pakatan Harapan (PH) for six years, the Dr Mahathir Mohamad-Anwar Ibrahim “feud” never abated and seemed to follow him wherever he went.
“In Umno, it was Mahathir and Anwar. And in PH, it was them again. When PH came into power, Anwar was in jail. After Anwar came out of jail, we lost power.
“This was because the question about who was to become PM, who’s the leader, and who’s the boss arose,” he told over 700 people at a Penang Warisan fundraising dinner at the Chinese Town Hall here last night.
The former Sabah chief minister also recalled the 2020 state election in September 2020, where he lost to a coalition led by Bersatu and Umno. Shafie said on nomination day, Anwar had hurriedly gone back to Kuala Lumpur.
“He told me ‘I’m convinced that I have formidable numbers to be PM.’ I was like, what is a formidable number? Then it was apparent, behind my back, despite being friends, that he was making deals with Umno MPs, and got statutory declarations to be PM.
“That is why I believe that the ‘big tent’ concept does not work,” Shafie said, citing examples of Gerakan and other BN parties which lost their grip in Penang.
He clarified, however, that he was not belittling the two leaders.
“I only want an end to such power plays and for leaders to listen to what the electorate wanted.”
Shafie also reiterated his recent stand that there are no plans to negotiate with any parties on seats, saying Warisan does not want to be inflicted with problems.
“Have you seen Muda now, you can hear some factions (in PH) rejecting the idea of them joining Pakatan. Politics is not about the party, it’s about the people and what they want. Big tent is not the way,” he said.
On another note, Shafie shared about a missed opportunity of cooperating with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), a tie-up they had to “sacrifice” due to GPS not wanting DAP and Anwar around.
“That is why Warisan’s focus is now on becoming a formidable party of young professionals with a blend of experienced hands on deck,” he said.