Shahidan to table urgent motion on RoS letter to Umno tomorrow

SHAH ALAM - Arau member of Parliament Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim will present an urgent motion in the Dewan Rakyat tomorrow regarding an initial letter from the Registration of Societies (RoS) which deemed the Umno general assembly motion for the top two posts in the party to not be contested in the coming party elections.

Shahidan, who is also a former Perlis Umno chairman added that the urgent motion would be brought forward in accordance with Rule 18(1) to demand that the Home Ministry provide an explanation about the authenticity of the letter.

“In relation to RoS, I was surprised to hear the speech brought by Kota Bharu MP Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan just now, which is that this matter is specific and needs to be urgently addressed by the public in relation to a letter sent by RoS to the Umno headquarters.

“This stated that the amendment of the additional motion proposed in the last 2022 Umno general assembly (PAU 2022) for the president with the deputy president not contesting it is irregular under Clause 9.3 of the Umno Constitution, contrary,” Shahidan told media members during a press conference at Parliament here.

However, he added that the opposition leaders learned of the Minister's decision through the media that he had exempted compliance to this provision and will allow the president and deputy president not to be contested.

“In our view, this is an abuse of power, and tomorrow, InshaAllah, I will bring it under an urgent motion because this was conveyed by Kota Bharu MP just now.

“For the sake of the great and terrible civil government, we cannot do this. We should not do things differently because this is not right. A civil government is a government that is for all and not just for some,” he stressed.

Earlier, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail issued a statement which notified that the exemption was granted under Section 70 of the Societies Act of 1966.

"With reference to Umno's constitution and meeting rules, the ministry has decided to exempt Umno from compliance with Section 13(1)(c)(iv) of the Act with relation to the extra motion passed," he stated.

Section 70 can provide discretion to the Minister to exempt any registered society from all or any of the Act's restrictions.

On Sunday, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed that the Registrar of Societies (RoS) had accepted the additional motion of th PAU 2022 to not contest the Umno president and deputy president's posts.

Zahid said on Sunday that Umno received a letter from the Home Ministry (KDN) confirming that RoS has accepted the extra motion approved by PAU 2022.

Earlier, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob reportedly asked Ahmad Zahid to produce the letter from RoS following the controversy over the additional motion passed at the PAU 2022.