Zahid: Umno will look at bigger picture when dealing with Putatan MP

July 31, 2023

KOTA KINABALU, July 30 — Umno will take a holistic approach when deciding further action against Putatan MP Datuk Shahelmey Yahya for insubordination, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

The Umno president said that for now, Shahelmy remained a party member despite going against orders by supporting the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government earlier this year.

“Even though his membership should automatically be revoked because of what happened… but we will deal with this in the spirit of the unity government, so, the consequences will be handled internally,” Ahmad Zahid said during his visit here to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Pacific Cooperative Youth Summit here today.

When pressed to say if the party would formally notify Shahelmy of a supposed six-year suspension against him, Ahmad Zahid only reiterated that his party would deal with this privately.

“He is still the Putatan MP for the unity government and at the state level, he is a state assemblyman representing the federal government,” he said.

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Shahelmey, who is deputy chief minister holding the works portfolio in the Sabah government, previously said he has yet to receive an official letter from Umno regarding his six-year suspension for going against the state Umno’s stand to abandon the GRS government and oust Datuk Hajiji Noor as the chief minister in January.

Shahelmey, who is also the Tanjung Keramat assemblyman, said he only learnt of his suspension through media reports of state Umno chief Datuk Bung Moktar Radin’s remarks.

Shahelmey was one of four Umno assemblymen who decided to back Hajiji after Sabah Umno retracted its support for the chief minister, allowing him to fend off the attempted power grab.

The other three are Arsad Bistari (Tempasuk), Datuk Jasnih Daya (Pantai Dalit) and Datuk James Ratib (Sugut).