It is up to leadership to decide candidacy for Kalabakan — Ghapur

TAWAU: Kalabakan MP Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh said he is leaving it up to the top leadership to determine the candidate who will contest in the constituency in the 14th General Election.

He said it was the responsibility of all Umno members to agree with the decision made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also Barisan Nasional chairman and Umno president.

“We cannot nominate ourselves (to contest). It is the prime minister’s decision,” he told reporters after handing out RM100 schooling assistance to 648 students at SK Pasir Putih near here, yesterday.

He was responding to a question regarding the issue raised by the grassroots that existing representatives had been in office for too long, and that a change was required.

Abdul Ghapur said he was aware that he was among the senior leaders in the Kalabakan parliamentary constituency. The constituency has three state seats, namely Merotai, Tanjong Batu and Sebatik.

“I have been an elected representative for seven terms, four terms in the State Assembly and three terms in Parliament,” he said, adding that the decision for him to contest had always come from the top leadership.

At the event, Abdul Ghapur also handed out 2,500 schoolbags donated by Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) member Jonathon Lim.