Parti Warisan Sabah deputy president Darrell Leiking believes that the authorities are pursuing his party president Mohd Shafie Apdal because of the latter's ability to appeal to Sabah's various ethnic groups.

This, said Leiking, was similar to why there was a conspiracy against PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who was the glue which held opposition parties together in the defunct Pakatan Rakyat.

"It was not because he was the prime candidate for a new prime minister, but because he was the sole figure who could ensure that the three biggest opposition parties remain united under Pakatan Rakyat.

"Likewise, the main reason why Shafie had been detained... (is because) he is the (unifying) factor who could potentially lead the regime change in the Sabah...