Zahid: Shahelmey's suspension from Umno done internally

KOTA KINABALU - Umno President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the suspension of Putatan MP Datuk Ir Shahelmey Yahya's membership was an internal decision made by the party.

Zahid, also the Deputy Prime Minister, said the decision was made internally to uphold the values of the unity government.

This is because Shahelmey holds positions as both an MP and a state assemblyman in the ruling government.

"He is a leader at state and national levels who represents the Unity Government.

"Even though the membership automatically expires because he committed a wrongdoing, we have spirit in the unity government so that we will do that internally," he said after officiating the closing ceremony of the Asia Pacific Cooperative Youth Summit 4.0 (APCYS 4.0) here on Sunday.

Sinar Harian reported last Wednesday that Shahelmey, also the Tanjung Keramat assemblyman, has not received any official letter regarding suspending his membership in Umno.

Earlier, Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar announced that Shahelmey's Umno membership was suspended for six years due to his signing of a sworn statement (SD) supporting Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor as Sabah Chief Minister during the political unrest in January.

During the crisis, Shahelmey and three other Umno assemblymen, including Datuk James Ratib (Sugut), Datuk Jasnih Daya (Pantai Dalit), and Datuk Mohd Arsad Bistari (Tempasuk), supported the decision of the Sabah Umno leadership to gain support from Hajiji.

However, James, Jasnih and Mohd Arsad announced their departure from Umno on Feb 21 to join Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah led by Hajiji.

When asked, Zahid declined to comment on the status of the suspension letter and reiterated that the issue is being handled internally.