SABAH Umno is standing firm that those who defected or aligned themselves with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) will not be fielded in the state election scheduled this year, says its chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
The party would field candidates who are loyal and focused on serving the people and state, not those with personal motives.
He said Sabah Umno had taken steps to strengthen itself since leaving the GRS coalition led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
“As such, the question of candidates shifting loyalties will not arise as we have identified the right candidates for the state election,” he said in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday.
Bung Moktar was referring to Sabah Umno’s suspended assemblyman Datuk Shahelmey Yahya, who is Deputy Chief Minister III, and state assistant minister Andi Muhammad Suraydy Bandy, who continued to back Hajiji when Sabah Barisan pulled out of the GRS coalition in January 2023.
Shahelmey, the Tanjung Keramat assemblyman and Putatan MP, had said that he was preparing to defend his state seat but did not reveal if he would contest under a Barisan or GRS ticket, saying he would disclose this at the right time.
