Umno's no-contest motion exceptional or unconstitutional?

SHAH ALAM - As the Registrar of Societies (RoS) had accepted Umno's last-minute motion at its 2022 General Assembly to not contest the party's president and the deputy president posts, it popped a question as to it being exceptional or unconstitutional?

Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi revealed last Saturday that Umno had received a letter from the Home Ministry confirming that RoS has accepted the motion approved at the general assembly.

Interestingly, while the head honcho highlighted that the decision made by the chairman at the assembly had gone through rightful procedures and obeyed the constitution, he pointed that the minister in question Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had granted an exemption from compliance to Section 13(1) (c) (14) through Section 70 of the Societies Act 1966 (Act 832) when it comes to the no-contest motion.

As Zahid said that Umno received an exemption from compliance instead of the motion being verified, this had raised eyebrows as well as a significant question; did the authorities not just indirectly acknowledge that the motion was indeed unconstitutional?

Secondly, did the ministry just interfere in the task of the registrar body? If it was the case as per Zahid's claim, would they be able to justify the act as something that is far from another double standard among members of the ruling government?

When asked, Umno vice president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob refused to express any further reaction beyond what he had stated to the media with last Sunday. He briefly responded, "I made a statement and it had been reported by media yesterday... that's enough."

As reported by news outlets, the eighth Prime Minister had urged the letter to be shown to the party members as a piece of evidence to shed light on the confusion caused by contradicting reports on RoS' stance on the controversial motion.

He said, "One mentioned that RoS rejected it, but not even a day later, there were reports claiming that it was passed. Everyone is confused." As Sinar Daily then questioned if the Bera MP had any intention of challenging the registrar's move in court, he had not laid any more word.

Meanwhile, shortly after the incomplete conversation, Ismail took to Twitter a heart-warming video far from his chaotic career in the political arena. He wrote, "Every Sunday is my recreational day... switching between parks suggested by netizens.

"Yesterday, (I) once again visited Taman Botani Perdana, KL because I didn't get to finish on my first time because of rain," he added on the Twitter thread capturing him casually going for a brisk walk.

Frustrated, yet determined to solve the mind-boggling puzzle of the political game, Sinar Daily attempted to seek a piece of Umno secretary Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan's mind. However, after numerous calls followed by a series of texts as he insisted by himself, the Deputy Finance Minister I had still not responded.