PETALING JAYA: Umno has sacked former Arau MP Shahidan Kassim and three others for contesting in the general election (GE15) under a different banner.
Apart from Shahidan, former Padang Besar MP Zahidi Zainul Abidin and former Maran MP Ismail Abd Muttalib were also sacked today.
In a statement, Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan said that Azhar Ahmad, who is contesting the Kuala Perlis state seat, also had his membership terminated.
Shahidan, Zahidi and Ismail were dropped from the list of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates for GE15 which BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced last week.
Shahidan and Ismail then decided to defend their seats on a Perikatan Nasional (PN) ticket while Zahidi and Azhar are contesting as independents. Zahidi is also contesting the Titi Tinggi state seat in Perlis as an independent.
Ahmad said the termination of their membership is in line with Umno’s constitution, which states that any Umno member who contests a state or parliamentary seat as an independent or for another party is automatically sacked.
He added that several other Umno members, including those seen accompanying the four candidates during their nomination on Saturday, are currently being investigated for purportedly supporting the quartet.
