Shahelmey to serve suspension as Umno member

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya, who broke ranks by siding with the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) earlier this year in a failed coup, says he remains a member of Umno and will sit out his six-year suspension.

The Putatan MP and Tanjung Keramat assemblyman, however, said until now he had yet to be officially informed about his suspension apart from the statement made by Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin in April.

“I have not received a letter yet but Bung said I had been suspended, so I will leave it at that.

“State election is a long way from now, two years away (2025); until then we work first,” he said.

He and three other Sabah Barisan Nasional assemblymen had backed Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor’s coalition during the failed attempt by Sabah Barisan and Parti Warisan to topple the state government on Jan 5.

Subsequently, Bung told reporters that Shahelmey’s membership had been suspended by the Umno supreme council for going against the party stand to withdraw its support for the GRS government.

Had Shahhelmey quit Umno after the failed coup, he would have had to vacate the Putatan parliamentary seat.

With Sabah endorsing the anti-hopping law on June 15, leaving a party will also trigger a by-election for state seats.

For sackings by their parties, politicians are not required to vacate their seats.