Mahathir & 4 others sacked from Bersatu

By FocusM

FORMER prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been sacked from the party he founded, Bersatu, effective today.

Also given the boot are his son and Jerlun MP Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, Kubang Pasu MP Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik.

According to letters signed by Bersatu’s Executive Secretary Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya today, the decision was made under the Clauses 10.2.2 and 10.2.3 of the party’s constitution.

The letters, sighted by FocusM, said that Mahathir and his men “joined and sat at the Opposition bloc” when Parliament met on May 18.

Their memberships have been revoked immediately.

Clauses 10.2.2 and 10.2.3 of the Bersatu Constitution state that the membership is forfeited if a member fails to comply with party rules, including joining other party affiliations.

Meanwhile, Free Malaysia Today website reports that Mahathir and the four other PPBM MPs who had their memberships “automatically nullified” have rejected their removal from the party.

In a joint statement, they claimed that their termination was against the law.

They added that they reserved the right to take legal action to protect their interests and to ensure the wellbeing of the party’s grassroots.

They claimed that they did not breach the constitution and the clauses cited in their termination letters, adding that they had the legal right to join the opposition bench in the Dewan Rakyat as MPs.

“We totally disagree that our membership has been terminated, all the more since it goes against the law and denies us our right to defend ourselves and offer an explanation.

“We will ensure that PPBM returns to the right track and is not made a vehicle for some parties who are hungry for power and positions.

“To other PPBM MPs, we urge and call on you to look at what is happening in your own party and being toyed with by a party that we used to oppose together,” they said in the statement.

They accused PPBM president and prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin of having a dictatorial attitude and playing with politics at a time when the country is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn.

They also claimed that Muhyiddin terminated their membership out of fear of facing the upcoming party elections and of losing his position as prime minister.

The MPs also said that PPBM executive secretary Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya, who signed their termination letters, did not have the power to do so under the party’s constitution.

“For an executive secretary to send a letter like this to one of the founders of PPBM himself is offensive and rude,” they added.

The five were informed of their termination from PPBM in separate letters today.

Mahathir was the chairman of the party while his son, Mukhriz, was deputy president and was set to contest Muhyiddin for the president’s post. Syed Saddiq was the youth wing’s chief.

Maszlee was the former education minister under Pakatan Harapan while Amiruddin was the deputy finance minister.

The notices of automatic termination are the latest in a tussle between two factions in PPBM, one led by Mahathir and the other by Muhyiddin. – May 28, 2020

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