KOTA KINABALU, Sept 8 — Barisan Nasional will only name its chief minister if it wins the upcoming Sabah state election and the decision will be made by its assemblymen, the coalition’s chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

The Umno president said this new autonomy is unlike before when the pact’s central leadership had a bigger say in who will lead the state.

"If we win enough seats to form the government, we will leave it to the winning Barisan assemblymen to choose a chief minister among themselves.

"Never before in the history of Umno or Barisan has this autonomy been given. This is a sign of our commitment to Sabah Umno,” he said.

He was speaking to BN members here during the launch of the coalition’s election machinery here.

He said that the Sabah Umno chairman will also be given the autonomy to choose the candidates contesting the coming election, which will be announced by Sabah Umno chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.

"It will be a combination of new and old faces,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zahid also said that an election pledge will be made public after nomination day that the party will implement in full.

"We only offer pledges that can be fully implemented for Sabah,” he said.

The state election is being held because Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal sought the dissolution of the state assembly after predecessor Tan Sri Musa Aman mounted an attempted takeover of the state government via defections.

The Election Commission has set September 12 for nominations to allow for two weeks of campaigning before polling on September 26.