KOTA KINABALU, March 19 — Warisan is not ruling out the possibility of working with either Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) or Barisan Nasional (BN) at the next election (GE15).

Its president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said that the party would look for a "smart partnership” and that would mean negotiating with any party that offers it the best options.

"We are keeping all options open. It does not matter with whom. We are not closing the door on anyone,” he said, adding that a "smart partnership” was important judging from the outcome of the Melaka, Sarawak and Johor state elections.

He had said this in response to a question on whether Warisan was prepared to work with GRS or BN in light of the changing national political landscape.

"Going it alone won’t be easy. If there is a concept of working together in the interests of Sabahans — similar to Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) with no affiliation to any party but just working closely with any government of the day at the federal level — we will explore all these areas,” he said.

However, Shafie said that Warisan would be concentrating on strengthening its own position before it considers partnering up with any party ahead of the general election.

He said there was nothing wrong with working with a party that had been chosen by the people in an election.

"We are looking at how best we can unite Malaysians at large because Warisan is a truly multi-racial party,” he said.

On PKR’s Rafizi Ramli’s announcement that he would be contesting the party’s deputy president post, Shafie declined to comment except to say that all parties should undergo rejuvenation.