Report: Selangor PAS says Shahidan Kassim not in its shortlist for state poll

KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim has not been shortlisted as a candidate for the upcoming Selangor election.

Selangor PAS communications secretary Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir said his division has identified the candidates and the former Umno strongman is not one of them, Mingguan Malaysia, the Sunday edition of Utusan Malaysia, reported today.

“So far, the candidates shortlisted for Selangor PAS are natives of this state only. There is no discussion to place Datuk Seri Shahidan.

“However, at the central level we do not know if there is a proposal to put him as a candidate in any state assembly seat for the upcoming state election,” he was quoted as saying.

Roslan was also reported saying the seat negotiations among the three main Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition parties — PAS, Bersatu, and Gerakan — is nearly complete.

He added that the coalition will announce its candidates for the Selangor contest only after getting approval from its “highest leadership”.

Shahidan was reported to have reiterated his desire to run in the Selangor election yesterday, saying he will do his best to ensure PN wins in the election for six states.

The former Perlis menteri besar was dropped by Umno in last November’s general election, but contested on a PAS ticket and won back his Arau parliamentary seat.

Selangor is one of the six states to face elections this year and is controlled by Pakatan Harapan (PH).

The other five are Penang and Negeri Sembilan which are also PH-led, and Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu, which are controlled by PAS.