UMNO insists that all decisions regarding seat distribution and candidate selection for the 17th Sabah State Election (PRN17) are fully determined by the state leadership.
Barisan Nasional (BN) Treasurer-General who is also UMNO Vice-President, Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said the party has finalised the list of candidates and constituencies that will be contested in this election, after going through a briefing session with the party's top leadership and Sabah UMNO representatives.
"UMNO has finalised all its candidates and a decision has also been made on the constituencies that will be contested. The announcement will be made tomorrow," he said.
He was met after attending the UMNO Supreme Working Council Meeting and the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council Meeting at the Sabah UMNO Building, today.
Present to chair the meeting was Deputy Prime Minister who is also BN Chairman and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Johari, who is also the Minister of Plantations and Commodities, stressed that the determination of candidates in Sabah is made entirely by the state leadership, in line with the spirit of strengthening the voice and role of the local people in determining the political direction of the state.
“What we want to emphasise is that whatever is done in Sabah is all Sabahans, the candidates are Sabahans, even the relationship management is Sabahans. So the question of us coming as a party from the Peninsula does not arise,” he said.
He said that the close relationship and cooperation between Sabah and the Peninsula in BN has been established for a long time and the party’s main focus now is to bring about the continuation of balanced development in the state.
He also acknowledged that there were several constraints in the implementation of development projects, but stressed that the government was always working to ensure that the benefits could be felt by the people.
“Sometimes we have constraints in terms of our ability to finance projects, so there are things that take longer to implement. But most importantly, we want to produce Sabah leaders who are capable of building this state together with the Federal government,” he said.
He added that UMNO's priority now is to ensure that Sabah continues to progress in line with other states in Malaysia with competent local leadership that is capable of driving continuous development.
This is evidence of the party's commitment to respecting local political autonomy and capabilities. - November 8, 2025
