SHAH ALAM - Bersatu has denied allegations from certain parties claiming that the recent announcement of the election results for the party's affiliate wing is invalid.
Bersatu Election Committee chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azim Mohd Zabidi said that the election process for the affiliate wing was conducted in accordance with the rules and procedures outlined in the party's constitution.
Azim also clarified that to date, they have not received any official complaints from any party regarding violations of the rules and procedures of the affiliate wing's election, as some have alleged.
"Moreover, until now, Bersatu has not received any notice from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) regarding complaints submitted by certain individuals claiming that there were violations in the affiliate wing's election process recently.
"Therefore, I believe these allegations are merely rumours deliberately spread to tarnish Bersatu's image among party members and the Malaysian public as a whole," he told Sinar Premium on Thursday.
Azim made these remarks when asked to comment on allegations from certain parties that the election process in Bersatu was tainted by abuse of power and misconduct orchestrated by specific individuals.
Recently, a party member Francis Xavier Maivar, whose application to contest for the deputy chief position in the Bersatu Petaling Jaya division was rejected, claimed that the election result for the position of the affiliate wing chief, won by Dr Chong Fat Full, as announced by Azim on Oct 15, was invalid.
Francis alleged the election result was invalid because the election committee did not clearly state the number of votes obtained by each candidate and did not address any objections during the election process.
He said that the committee also did not conduct re-election for the divisions that were annulled but instead announced the results as a whole.
"Following this, I submitted an official complaint letter to the Director-General of RoS, Datuk Zulfikar Ahmad, on Oct 18, urging the Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to intervene and annul the election results for the affiliate wing committee as announced by Azim previously.
"I also will not hesitate to file a report and submit various evidence to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) regarding the existence of corruption and abuse of power in the recent affiliate wing election," he said.
Previously, Azim announced that Fat Full successfully retained the chief position of the Affiliate Wing by defeating his opponent, while the deputy chief position was won by R Sri Sanjeevan from the Jempol Division.
Meanwhile, Francis, in his complaint letter submitted to the RoS, explained that he lodged the complaint after discovering that the election process for the affiliate wing in 15 out of 21 Bersatu divisions across several states, held on Oct 12, did not adhere to the procedures and guidelines set by the party.
He noted that four problematic divisions in the Federal Territory were Batu, Setiawangsa, Bukit Bintang and Bandar Tun Razak.
He said that among the violations that occurred were that the elections for all four divisions were conducted outside the designated areas, despite having facilities to do so.
He mentioned that the same issues also arose in three Bersatu divisions: Ampang, Sepang, and Subang, while in Puchong, there were complaints that members were only given an hour to vote, from 9 to 10am.
"I also have evidence regarding allegations of an RM50 bribe offered to those who voted for a candidate for the chief of the Affiliate Wing in the Ledang division.
"I have proof showing that non-members were allowed to vote for one of the candidates for the Affiliate chief in the Johor Bahru division during the recent election," he said.
Francis also claimed that he was informed the election process for the Affiliate Wing in Muar, Johor, was invalid because the voting was conducted by 'show of hands' rather than using ballot papers as stipulated by party rules.
He claimed there were also complaints of vote manipulation in the Bersatu divisions of Jempol and Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, where the number of representatives present did not match the votes cast.
Meanwhile, Azim said that although Bersatu's accounts are currently frozen, the party expects the election process to proceed without major issues as they have alternative financial resources.