Shahelmey Hints Of Defending State Seat Ticket Undecided

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Shahelmey Yahya was elected assemblyman for Tanjung Keramat in 2020 and MP for Putatan in 2022 on a Barisan Nasional ticket. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Sabah deputy chief minister Shahelmey Yahya, who is currently suspended from Umno, has hinted at defending his Tanjung Keramat seat in the coming state assembly elections.
Shahelmey, who is also the MP for Putatan, quipped that there were two more “festive celebrations” ahead after Aidilfitri, namely Aidiladha and Sabah’s 17th state elections, Berita Harian reported.
When asked by reporters if he was implying that he had decided to defend his state seat, Shahelmey said, “More or less. I want to contest, but I’ll keep it (the decision to myself) first. With that said, we will make preparations in terms of election machinery.”
He added: “As to what ticket (I will contest under), we’ll decide later.”
Shahelmey was suspended for six years from Umno in March 2023 after refusing to toe the party line during an attempt to unseat Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor.
He and several other Sabah Umno assemblymen continued to give Hajiji their backing, and some of them were appointed to the state Cabinet.
Last month, Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin effectively shut the door on Shahelmey contesting again on the party’s ticket, saying Umno did not want someone who was unfaithful.
Bung also named Sabah Umno elections director and Putatan division chief Jeffery Nor Mohamed as the party’s candidate for Tanjung Keramat seat, in hopes of reclaiming the seat “from a traitor”.
Shahelmey is in his first term as Tanjung Keramat assemblyman and Putatan MP, seats he won in the 2020 state elections and 2022 parliamentary election, respectively.
Both seats were contested on a Barisan Nasional ticket. Should he contest on another party’s ticket in Tanjung Keramat, he may have to forfeit the Putatan parliamentary seat because of the anti-hopping law, paving the way for a by-election. - FMT

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