KOTA KINABALU: Sabah STAR Wiramuda (youth) chief Jordan Jude Ellron will contest N44 Tulid as an independent candidate after abruptly resigning from all his party positions, claiming he and his deputy were “pranked” into believing they would be fielded in the coming Sabah election.
Jordan announced his immediate resignation as Sabah STAR youth chief and Nabawan division chief, saying the party had marginalised its young leaders despite repeated assurances.
“Not a single seat was given to Sabah STAR Wiramuda. No young candidate was given a chance, and that makes my position as youth chief meaningless,” he said in a statement on Wednesday (Nov 12).
Jordan said Sabah STAR president, Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, had publicly named him as the prospective candidate for Tulid during an event at Sokid Villa in October, a decision he said was later affirmed by the party’s political bureau.
Acting on this assurance, he stated that he had already purchased campaign materials and paid the nomination deposit, which he now plans to donate to Sabah STAR candidates.
He claimed his deputy, Razidin Robert, went through a similar experience, saying Razidin had been publicly introduced twice as the candidate for N40 Bingkor but was later dropped, despite the political bureau’s confirmation.
Jordan said he had worked extensively on the ground in the Pensiangan area but had grown disheartened by what he described as toxic attitudes among certain party veterans and inconsistent decisions regarding candidate placement.
He also claimed that certain senior party figures had created a “toxic” environment, saying he and his deputy were unfairly labelled as traitors.
He said he had remained loyal to Sabah STAR president despite political differences involving his father, Datuk Ellron Angin, but was troubled when a proposal surfaced to send him to contest in N45 Sook.
“Sending me to N45 Sook to run against my own father is a ‘suicide mission’. It would only damage our relationship as father and son,” he said.
Ellron was one of five Sabah STAR assemblymen who did not follow Kitingan’s move to pull support from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS). Ellron was announced as a candidate in N45 Sook under GRS on Wednesday (Nov 12).
Jordan added that he was advised to “wait for Parliament”, but felt it was unfair after years of groundwork, adding that it was difficult to accept others “harvesting” the work he had sown.
He added that the leadership’s earlier pledge to allocate 30% of seats to youth candidates was not honoured, which he said further weakened trust within the party.
Sabah STAR, on Wednesday, named Datuk Mohd Ishak Ayub as its candidate for N40 Bingkor, Datuk Baritus Gungkit @ Evaristus for N44 Tulid, and Ireneus Pagut @ Jerneus Pagut for N45 Sook.
