KUALA NERANG, Nov 4 — Two Umno leaders dropped from contesting the 15th general election (GE15) have breached the party constitution by opting to stand on a Perikatan Nasional (PN) ticket, said Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

Mahdzir said the Umno constitution clearly spelt out the kind of penalty that can be imposed on members who violated party regulations.

"To me, it should not have happened but it did. It’s not right for people to resort to such a drastic action,” he said when commenting on the actions of incumbent Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kasim and Maran MP Datuk Seri Ismail Abdul Muttalib.

Speaking to reporters after a gathering with KAFA teachers and the Padang Terap district mosque committee here today, he said the reality in politics was that leaders should accept it with an open heart if they were not selected to contest.

Shahidan and Ismail were announced as PN candidates for Arau and Maran respectively by PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang in Marang, Terengganu, yesterday.

Asked if the two leaders had been stripped of their Umno membership, he said this was provided for in the party constitution but declined to elaborate as the focus now was on winning GE15.

Shahidan, the caretaker federal territories minister, and Ismail, the caretaker deputy housing and local government minister, won their seats on a Barisan Nasional ticket in GE14.

However, for GE15, Umno has picked Rozabil Abd Rahman for the Arau seat and Shahniza Shamsudin for Maran. — Bernama