KUALA LUMPUR – Umno has yet to decide on the fate of five Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblymen who went against their state chairman over support for the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government, party secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said.
Speaking at a media luncheon ahead of the 2022 Umno general assembly here today, Ahmad said that Umno has not reached a definitive conclusion on the matter.
“We have not made a decision yet regarding the five Sabah BN assemblymen who supported (state chief minister) Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Nor,” he said briefly when asked about the matter.
He also expressed his well wishes to the state’s new cabinet announced today following a reshuffle by Hajiji following last week’s political crisis in the state.
“All the best (to the Sabah state government). Hopefully, they will have stability now.
“We (Umno) will comment on the matter later,” Ahmad said.
Earlier today, Hajiji announced that Sabah BN chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin had been dropped from the state cabinet.
This follows the Sabah political crisis which erupted last week when Bung withdrew Sabah BN’s support from Hajiji’s government. However, five Sabah BN assemblymen did not go along with this move.
The five assemblymen are Datuk Shahelmey Yahya (Tg Keramat assemblyman), Datuk Jasnih Daya (Pantai Dalit), Datuk James Ratib (Sugut), Datuk Yusuf Yacob (Sindumin), and Datuk Mohd Arsad Bistari (Tempasuk).
On January 7, the five also called for Bung to resign as the state BN chief, claiming that his actions have tarnished the coalition’s good name. However, they retracted this demand later.
One of them, Shahelmey, has now replaced Bung as one of the state’s three deputy chief ministers, and also as state works minister, a post that Bung previously held. – The Vibes, January 11, 2023
