Barisan chairman, not Bung, has final say on candidates, says Shahelmey

KOTA KINABALU: Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has the final say on the coalition’s candidate for seats in any election, says Sabah’s Umno embattled Tanjung Keramat assemblyman Datuk Shahelmey Yahya.

The Sabah Deputy Chief Minister said that Barisan’s election writ for candidacy is signed by the Barisan chairman, as such the question of whether he will be fielded as a candidate or not will be decided by the national chairman.

Shahelmey said there is no doubt that Sabah Barisan-Umno chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin has named the party’s state election director Jeffrey Noh Mohmed as the candidate for Tanjung Keramat in the coming election.

“It is just an announcement by Bung…the decision is by the Barisan chairman,” he told reporters after a Ramadan Iftar event for children of an orphanage here Sunday (March 23).

Bung has maintained that Shahelmey had been suspended by the Umno supreme council for going against Sabah Umno’s decision to withdraw its support from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) in January 2023.

However, Shahelmey said his checks with Umno headquarters found no such suspension and he had never received any letter of suspension from the party.

Shahelmy, however, said he did not want to speculate on his political platform; if he could not contest on a Barisan ticket and used another party ticket, he would have to give up his Putatan parliament seat under the anti-hopping law.

“These are assumptions or questions people have about my status. As of now, I am both the assemblyman for Tanjung Keramat and the MP for Putatan.

“As for whether I will contest again and under which party’s ticket – I’ll announce that later,” he said

Shahelmy said his campaign machinery was gearing up for the state election as the term of the 16th Sabah Legislative Assembly comes to end in October.

“From the machinery side, they are ready to face any possibility of the state assembly being dissolved,” he said.

However, he said which party ticket he would contest is best kept for when the time comes.