Grs Ready To Accept Those Who Share Our Struggle Says Info Chief

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GRS information chief Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan (left) said the coalition is ready to accept political leaders from other parties, including Shahelmey Yahya.
PETALING JAYA: A Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) leader says the coalition is willing to accept political leaders from other parties, including deputy chief minister Shahelmey Yahya.
GRS information chief Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan told FMT today that while the coalition is open to accepting Shahelmey, it is not certain that he will be chosen to represent GRS at the state elections later this year.
“GRS is open to accepting any leader or individual (not just Shahelmey) who share the same aspirations with us in our struggle under Hajiji’s (Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor) leadership,” the Apas assemblyman told FMT.
Tanjung Keramat assemblyman Shahelmey was suspended for six years by Umno in March 2023 after he refused to toe the party line during an attempt to oust Hajiji, who is also the GRS chairman.
While Shahelmey said in January that he wanted to defend his state seat, Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin yesterday stressed that the state chapter is firm about not selecting or supporting members who had betrayed the party, in the polls.
Bung was responding to a query from Shahelmey about his status in Umno.
Shahelmey was among the five Umno assemblymen who backed Hajiji. The other four are James Ratib (Sugut), Jasnih Daya (Pantai Dalit), Arsad Bistari (Tempasuk) and Hamild Awang (Balung).
Shahelmey, who was later appointed as a deputy chief minister, did not quit Umno so as not to breach the federal anti-hopping law, but the other four assemblymen defected to Gagasan Rakyat Sabah.
The current Sabah government’s term expires in October.
In addition to the Tanjung Keramat state seat which he won five years ago, Shahelmey also won the Putatan parliamentary seat under the BN ticket in the 2022 general election (GE15).
Last October, Bung announced Putatan Umno leader Jeffrey Nor Mohamed as BN’s candidate for the Tanjung Keramat seat. - FMT

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