KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya is among the Sabah Cabinet members not listed as a candidate for any party in the upcoming 17th Sabah state election so far.
Shahelmey, who is also Sabah’s Works Minister, won the Tanjung Keramat seat with a majority of 1,124 votes in the last state election under the Barisan Nasional (BN) banner.
On Sunday, BN announced that Jeffery Nor Mohamed, the Sabah Umno election director and also Putatan UMNO division chief, will contest the Tanjung Keramat seat.
Meanwhile, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) today announced Shah Alfie Yahya, Gagasan Rakyat Sabah Tanjung Keramat division secretary and Shahelmey’s younger brother, as its candidate for the same seat.
Shahelmey, who is also the Putatan MP, along with Kalabakan MP Andi Muhammad Suryady, had his Umno membership suspended for six years since 2023 after opposing Sabah UMNO’s decision to withdraw support for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and the state government, triggering the ‘Kinabalu Move’ political crisis in January 2023.
In addition, Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister and former Sabah PKR chairman, Datuk Christina Liew, who won the Api-Api state seat with a majority of 5,347 votes, was not announced as a candidate for the party this time around.
PKR on Sunday named Thonny Chee, the chief executive officer of state government-linked Sri Pelancongan Sabah, as its candidate for the seat.
Sabah Industrial and Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe, who is also Sabah DAP chairman, will contest the Likas seat this time under Pakatan Harapan. He had previously won the Luyang seat with a majority of 14,521 votes.
Sabah Rural Development Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim, who won the Tamparuli seat in the last election with a majority of 3,517 votes, has yet to know whether he will be fielded, as the GRS candidate for the seat has not been announced.
Other Cabinet members, including Hajiji, who is also GRS chairman and won the Sulaman seat with a majority of 3,099 votes in the last election, will contest the same seat again.
The Election Commission has set Nov 29 as polling day, with nominations on Nov 15 and early voting on Nov 25.
