KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has ruled out any external involvement to save the party from being deregistered by the Registrar of Societies (RoS).
During a press conference in Parliament today, Ahmad Zahid, who is also the deputy prime minister, denied the claim, saying that it was normal for Umno to address the concerns of two members about the party’s no-contest motion for its top two posts that was decided during the last Umno General Assembly.
“There is no intervention. Two complainants are challenging the motion presented at Umno General Assembly and the proposal was examined by a permanent chairman who follows all the rules of the general assembly and all clauses in the (party’s) constitution.
“It should be known that the highest body is the general assembly.
“However, when the general assembly has already decided and the decision is accepted by 95 per cent of all representatives, we still respect the complaints of the two Umno members and offer our feedback. We feel that this is not a case of outside interference,” he said.
When asked about leaders questioning Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail over Umno being exempted from complying with Section 13 of the Societies Act 1966, he reiterated the minister’s stance that the decision can be challenged via the proper legal process.
“That is their personal view where Section 70 of the (Societies) 1966 Act is an Act approved by Parliament.
“As mentioned by the home minister, if anyone is not satisfied with the decision, they can file a complaint and take it to court,” he added.
Yesterday, Saifuddin defended his decision to exempt Umno from deregistration over its motion to prohibit contests for its top two posts during internal elections.
The minister told Parliament that his decision under the Societies Act 1966 could still be challenged in court by those unhappy with the ruling.
Two days ago, Saifuddin said he had, using his power as the home minister under Section 70 of the Societies Act, decided to exempt Umno from complying with that Act’s Section 13(1)(c)(iv) in relation to the approved motion in the 2022 Umno general assembly to not have the top two posts contested, after the reference was made to Umno’s party constitution and its rules.
Under Section 13(1)(c)(iv), the Registrar of Societies may cancel the registration of any society if the Registrar is satisfied that the registered society has wilfully contravened any provisions of the Societies Act or any regulations made under the Act or any of its rules, among other things.
Section 70 states the home minister’s power to use his discretion to exempt any society registered under the Societies Act from all or any of the provisions of the Act.
Two days ago, Ahmad Zahid claimed to have no knowledge of the viral letter from the RoS which had said that the Umno motion — for the top two posts to go unchallenged — was invalid.
Zahid said Umno’s secretary-general had received a letter from the Home Ministry to approve the no-contest motion for the top two posts and said it was sufficient to prove that the motion was legitimate, also insisting that the home minister has the final say.
