PETALING JAYA: Former Ketereh MP Annuar Musa claims that Umno’s failure to discuss his omission from the list of candidates for the general election (GE15) violates the party’s constitution.
Annuar was among the notable Umno leaders left out of Barisan Nasional’s list of candidates for GE15 announced by BN chairman and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi last night.
“Thank God, things are finally clear after hearing for myself last night’s announcement,” he said in a Facebook post.
“Before this, things were unclear as I was not consulted at all and there were also no negotiations as per the party’s constitution.”
The former Umno and BN secretary-general said he will consult his grassroots supporters and gauge the public’s sentiments before deciding on his next move.
Rumours of Annuar being dropped from the GE15 line-up had emerged earlier yesterday when it was reported that he was not invited to BN’s candidate announcement ceremony at Umno’s headquarters.
Annuar lost the seat to a PKR candidate in 2008 but wrested it back in 2013 before retaining it in the last general election in 2018.
On Saturday, Annuar, the communications and multimedia minister, said he wanted to defend the Ketereh seat and would not contest in any other constituency.
Kelantan Puteri Umno chief Marzuani Ardila Ariffin will be BN’s candidate for the seat.
Meanwhile, Halimah Sadique, another Umno minister who was dropped last night, was upbeat despite not being fielded for GE15.
“What a joy to have a blessed life. Good morning, everyone,” said the former Kota Tinggi MP in a Facebook post.
Halimah became the Kota Tinggi MP in 2018 and has served as the national unity minister under Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration since August 2021.
Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin will contest the Kota Tinggi seat in GE15.
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