Darell Leiking said the exclusion has reduced Sabah and Sarawak to a “side dish”, especially after BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had made a pledge last month on such an appointment if BN won the general election.

“I guess it is another ‘standard’ treatment of Sabah and Sarawak by west Malaysians,” the Warisan deputy president told FMT. “The omission is a reflection of what they think of us.”

Leiking, who will be defending his Penampang parliamentary seat on Nov 19, said such treatment made it more imperative to emancipate Sabah from any control of parties based in west Malaysia.

He said it was time to reset Sabah and Sarawak as a strong bloc in the formation of the next federal government.

The BN manifesto released this evening contained 99 promises. The coalition promised to develop Sabah and Sarawak in line “with the spirit of the Federal Constitution” and uphold equitable development between East and West Malaysia.

Sabah and Sarawak would be made the new security hub and be developed as new economic giants.

Pakatan Harapan has promised to have two deputy prime ministers – one from the Peninsula and another from East Malaysia.