Warisan Plus addresses KDM fears in grand finale ceramah

SABAH POLLS | In the last push to inspire voters to choose Warisan Plus to continue governing Sabah, the coalition tonight sought to allay fears of the Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) community in its final campaign effort. 

At the Warisan Plus grand finale ceramah in Penampang, former chief justice Richard Malanjum made an appearance to address the concerns of the KDM community especially on the issue of undocumented migrants in the state.

Malanjum said he would not have openly campaigned for incumbent Chief Minister Shafie Apdal if the Warisan president was an "undocumented migrant".

"If Shafie was an undocumented migrant, I would not stand here to campaign (for him). Warisan is not an undocumented migrants party as well," he told some 400 party members and supporters.

He urged voters to reject the puppet parties controlled by political outfits from Peninsular Malaysia.

Read more: The who's who is the Sabah 2020 election

"Have a look at your children before you sleep tonight. When you vote tomorrow, think of your children and grandchildren," he added.

Meanwhile, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng in his speech stressed that Shafie is indeed an "original Sabahan", which is also the title of a song often played in Warisan Plus events and ceramah.

"We are ready to elect an original Sabahan, Shafie, as our chief minister.

"Tomorrow is D-day. Do not let Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin dictate who is your chief minister," he said.

Read more: Sabah Decides 2020: Making sense of the players, parties and battles

There has been a lack of trust in Warisan among the KDM community over the "PTI" issue surrounding the Sabah election. 

The term "PTI" referred to pendatang tanpa izin (migrants who enter the country illegally) and was a regular buzzword used throughout the Sabah campaign.

Warisan has often been labelled as a Sulok-Bajau-based party, the same ethnic group as people from the southern Philippines who flocked to Sabah since half a century ago.

Tonight's event, dubbed the "United We Must" grand finale, was the final ceramah held for Warisan Plus' Moyog candidate Darell Leiking and Kapayan candidate Jannie Lasimbang.

Moyog and Kapayan are semi-urban state seats under the Penampang parliamentary seat which is a fortress of the KDM community.

Earlier, the crowd was entertained by political video clips and songs featuring Warisan, Shafie and the candidates.

Supporters in high spirit carrying the Warisan flag danced and sang "Original Sabahans" as the song was played, and cheered when Darell spoke.

The crowd was also handed propaganda leaflets addressing the controversial issue of undocumented migrants. Among others, the leaflet explained how thousands of migrants came to Sabah during the previous administration before Warisan.

Sabah goes to the polls tomorrow.

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