KUALA LUMPUR: Umno has sacked four of its members who went against the party by contesting in the 15th General Election (GE15) as independents and on opposition tickets.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan in a statement today said the four were Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin who is contesting as an independent in Padang Besar, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (Arau), Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib (Maran) and Datuk Azhar Ahmad for the Kuala Perlis state seat.
"Their sacking is in line with clause 20.11 of the party constitution, which clearly stipulates that 'a member that wins and then leaves the party, or stands as an independent or rival in the parliamentary or state election will have their memberships automatically revoked'."
Ahmad said with the termination of their memberships, their positions in Umno division levels would be held by the deputy division chiefs involved.
"Umno wishes to stress that other members, including those who were seen accompanying these four candidates during nomination day, can be classified as supporting the opponents and (their status) is being investigated before further action is taken."
Shahidan, who was Barisan Nasional's member of parliament for Arau for four terms, was dropped from the party's lineup for this election, and decided to contest on the Perikatan Nasional (PN) ticket.
Ismail, who is caretaker deputy housing and local government minister, will also be seeking re-election in his Maran constituency under the PN banner.
Zahidi will be defending Padang Besar, a seat he had held for two terms.
The former deputy communications and multimedia minister is standing as an independent candidate, and is also contesting the Titi Tinggi state seat in Perlis.
Azhar is also running in the Kuala Perlis state seat as an independent, against four other candidates.
On Saturday, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party had the right to sack any member who contests on a ticket other than that of the party.
