IN light of recent complaints made by two party members to the Registrar of Societies (ROS), UMNO Secretary-General Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan has announced his plans to meet with ROS officials to clear up any confusion surrounding the party’s annual general meeting (AGM) and the controversial no-contest motion for the top two posts.
During the AGM, which took place last Saturday (Jan 14), the motion to prevent an election for the positions of president and deputy president was passed.
However, there were notable dissenting voices, including that of former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
Khairy accused the party leadership of blocking the vote and allowing non-party members to participate in the vote for the motion.
To address these concerns, Ahmad will be accompanied by the party’s legal team in his meeting with ROS officials. The goal of the meeting is to explain how the procedures for proposing and tabling the motion were carried out by the party’s constitution.
According to Ahmad, the vote is constitutional, but former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob posted a video on Sunday last week to state his views on the vote, saying that he deemed the non-contest motion unconstitutional. A few other members are also saying the motion breaches Article 10.
UMNO’s lawyer had already explained that the permanent chairman (Badruddin Amiruldin) allowed the proposal for the motion in line with Clause 21.1 of the assembly’s rules, which was within his power as the permanent chairman.
Ahmad also told FMT that the delegates were allocated time to debate the motion before it was to be voted on.
“If the delegates did not agree, they could have stood up to express their disagreement.
“It can be said that more than 90% of the delegates expressed their agreement by raising their hands and even standing. There were only a few dozen delegates who raised their hands or stood up to express their disapproval.
“This became a decision that was reached at the general assembly. Therefore, it is an order, or party policy, that all UMNO members must abide by,” added Ahmad.
It is not the first time that UMNO has blocked the vote for the two top posts of the party. There has never been a real issue on this matter in the past. The ROS altogether did not take any action against the party or any other parties that pushed for delays in the vote for the top posts.
The two UMNO members who filed a report with the ROS yesterday (Jan 20) have hit back at UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi after he questioned if the duo were being used by certain quarters.
Puad also called out the former Rembau MP for praising the two UMNO members after they sought a probe into a possible breach of the party’s constitution regarding the no-contest motion for UMNO’s top two posts, going on to question if the pair were “brave or being used”.
One of the complainants Fiqri Firdaus said they made the complaints because they believe all members of the party have the right to disagree on certain matters. — Jan 21, 2023
Main photo credit: Bernama
