PUTATAN: Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has confirmed that Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Shahelmy Yahya will contest under the coalition’s banner in the upcoming 17th State Election.
Hajiji, who is also the Chief Minister, expressed confidence that Shahelmy would retain the Tanjung Keramat seat while contributing another victory to GRS as the Member of Parliament for Putatan.
Speaking after officiating the Young People Programme at Dewan Sri Putatan on Sunday, Hajiji said Shahelmy’s dual roles as state assemblyman and MP placed him in a strong position to defend his constituency.
Shahelmy, who is also the State Works Minister, won the Tanjung Keramat seat under Umno/Barisan Nasional during the last state polls with a majority of 4,594 votes against four challengers.
However, Sabah Umno had earlier announced that Shahelmy would not be renominated following his decision not to support the “Langkah Kinabalu” move, which aimed to unseat Hajiji’s administration.
The initiative failed when Hajiji secured the backing of Sabah Pakatan Harapan (PH) alongside several Umno representatives, including Shahelmy, ensuring political stability for the state.
Looking ahead, Hajiji, who is also president of Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat), voiced optimism that GRS would secure not only Tanjung Keramat but also the Petagas and Tanjung Aru seats, citing the government’s delivery of education, welfare, social and economic initiatives under the Sabah Maju Jaya plan.
