SHAH ALAM, May 31 — After deadline extended for 30 days, Selat Klang assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari has demanded that the Parti Pribumi Bersatu supreme leadership council respond to his query first.
The Bersatu lawmaker, who stated his support for Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shaari, said he will not respond to any instructions from the supreme council unless the latter responds to his.
“Following the letter dated May 17 sent to me by the supreme council, I have replied to the notice. In my reply, I asked three questions.
“My questions were simple, but they didn’t want to answer, instead they issued a new notice stating that I must answer their questions first and was given an additional 30 days to respond to the new notice.
“However, I decided not to answer any questions until my questions were answered,” he said in an interview with the media at his office here.
Rashid said he asked for the time, location and the list of the supreme council members attending the meeting which decided to issue the instruction letter.
“Second, I asked about the status of two Bersatu supreme council members, which are Mohd Rafique Abdullah and Mohd Yazid Mohd Yunus. Why? Because the party’s constituency stated that only Malaysians with the status of Malay and Pribumi can become a member. The two are Indian Muslim and Punjabi.
“However, in the latest and amended constituency, it did say that any Malaysians that is Islam can become a member, but has the amendment approved by the Registrar of Societies (RoS)?” he asked.
Abdul Rashid said that the original notice sent to all Bersatu MPs and assemblyman could be voided if the amendment was not approved by RoS as the two are not members of the supreme council.
This could also mean that Bersatu had breached section 11 of the Societies Act 1966.
Section 11 of the Societies Act 1966 stated that no registered society shall change its name or place of business, or amend its rules, without the prior approval of the Registrar, and an application for any such change, or amendment of its rules shall be made to the Registrar within sixty days from the date of the decision to make the change or the amendment.
Two weeks ago, Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said its seven rogue lawmakers were given 14 days to respond to party “instructions” or their membership will be revoked.
He said that the steps involved were taken according to the party’s constitution.
Abdul Rashid said in the letter, they were asked to state their backings back to Bersatu and need to explain his actions for campaigning for Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) candidate for the Kuala Kubu Baru by-election.
On May 9, Hamzah confirmed that Tanjong Karang MP Datuk Zulkafperi Hanafi and Selat Klang assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari, who were seen doing so, have automatically lost their party membership and must vacate their seats as a result of their stunts.
Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said it was not “logical” for them to remain Bersatu members while campaigning for rivals.
On this matter, Abdul Rashid said that he was campaigning for a coalition that makes up the government and not for a specific party.
“If I campaign for PKR for example, that’s against the constituency, but what I did was campaigning for the unity government,” he said.
Abdul Rashid and Zulkafperi are among the seven Bersatu lawmakers who crossed the political aisle and stated support for the PH-Barisan Nasional pact.
The other five Bersatu MPs who expressed their support for the unity government were Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman, Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal, Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar).
The group were able to retain their seats due to a loophole in the constitutional amendment against political defections.
