PRIME Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today admitted that he was quite disappointed when some of his Umno friends in the Cabinet were not selected to represent the party in the general election (GE).

Ismail Sabri, who is Umno vice-president said even though their names were dropped, some of them had stayed loyal to the party and were even prepared to ensure victory for Barisan Nasional (BN).

“We will never forget their deeds. Especially when they chose to stay loyal to the party even though they were not selected to contest.”

“I personally feel quite disappointed when my friends, who are winnable candidates and have contributed so much to the party, could not contest,” he told a press conference after officiating Selangau Section of the Sarawak Pan Borneo Highway Project in Selangau today.

The four Cabinet ministers dropped from Umno’s list of candidates for the GE were the Federal Territories Minister Shahidan Kassim, Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa, Science, Technology and Innovation Dr Adham Baba and National Unity Minister Halimah Mohamad Saddique.

Shahidan decided to contest the GE on the Perikatan Nasional-PAS ticket to defend his Arau seat.

When asked whether those who stayed loyal to Umno would be appointed to hold important posts if BN wins the election, Ismail Sabri said, “Let’s win it first and we’ll decide later.” – Bernama, November 14, 2022.