KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 — The Registrar of Societies (RoS) has reversed its decision to invalidate Umno’s postponement of its party elections that were initially due on June 30.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said he was notified by RoS director director-general Jasri Kasim earlier today and was grateful for the decision.
“Based on the additional information provided to the RoS by Umno’s lawyers on August 9, 11 and 18 as well as testimony from several members of Umno’s supreme council, it was decided that the postponement of Umno’s elections for the term 2021/2023 was done properly.
“As such, the appointment of members to the council, divisions and Umno branches will be postponed until a date before December 29, 2022. However, we must have our annual general meeting and divisional meetings with at least one-quarter quorum by 2021,” he said in a statement tonight.
Umno last held party elections on June 30, 2018, and the three-year term of its party president and other office-bearers would have ended on June 30 this year, requiring a new party election by then.
It postponed party elections by 18 months from June 30 and the validity of this decision was in dispute.
On August 6, the RoS had said this decision was invalid. It cited the July 7 minutes of the party’s supreme council meeting that noted the decision for postponement was made when the supreme council’s term had already expired.
At the time, Ahmad countered this assertion on Twitter with a chronology of events, including his June 24 letter to notify the RoS of the postponement decision. He also shared a July 19 letter from the RoS that it had no objection to said decision.
Among other things, Ahmad’s chronology had stated that he had, as Umno secretary-general, on July 30 written to the RoS director-general about the July 7 minutes of the Umno supreme council meeting that legitimised an earlier June 18 circular resolution among Umno supreme council members to postpone the party polls.
