‘Wrong of Umno leaders to contest on PN ticket’

KUALA NERANG: Two Umno leaders dropped from contesting the 15th General Election (GE15) have breached the party constitution by opting to stand on a Perikatan Nasional ticket, says Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid (pic).

Mahdzir said the Umno constitution clearly spells out the kind of penalty that could be imposed on members who violate party regulations.

“To me, it should not have happened, but it did.

“It’s not right for people to resort to such drastic action,” he was quoted by Bernama as telling reporters after a gathering with religious teachers and the Padang Terap district mosque committee here yesterday.

He was commenting on the actions of incumbent Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kasim and Maran MP Datuk Seri Ismail Abdul Muttalib, who are now defending their seats under Perikatan.

PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang announced their candidacy in Marang, Terengganu, on Thursday.

He said the reality in politics is that leaders should accept it with an open heart if they are not selected to contest.

Asked if the two leaders have been stripped of their Umno membership, Mahdzir said that this is provided for in the party constitution but declined to elaborate, adding that the focus now is on winning GE15.

Shahidan, the Federal Territories Minister, and Ismail, the Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister, won their seats on a Barisan Nasional ticket in GE14.

However, for GE15, Umno has picked Rozabil Abd Rahman for the Arau seat and Shahniza Shamsudin for Maran.