Zahid: Muhyiddin will be treated professionally by the ROS

Muhyiddin Yassin will be treated professionally by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) if he wants to file a complaint on his suspension as Umno deputy president, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Zahid - who is also home minister - said the ROS was a government department that was run professionally and that all individuals, including leaders or former leaders, who lodge complaints with it would be treated in a professional manner.

"The ROS can evaluate for itself the punishment handed down to Muhyiddin by Umno's supreme council.

"I wish to make it clear that the ROS acts without fear or favour. All who lodge complaints with it are given equal treatment," he told a press conference in Jasin yesterday.

Earlier, he had opened the Sungai Rambai Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) in Jasin. Also present were Malacca Chief Minister Idris Haron and Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The Umno supreme council, which met last Friday, had unanimously decided to suspend Muhyiddin as deputy president with immediate effect until the next party polls.

On Thursday, Muhyiddin had said that he would be referring the matter to ROS.

In the meantime, Zahid reiterated that the ROS does not take sides and has always been fair in making decisions.

As such, he said individuals or organisations who bring complaints to ROS must heed any decisions made by it.

‘ROS will do its best’

"The ROS decides based on the Societies Act or the constitution and regulations of the entity involved, therefore its decision is final and must be obeyed fully. The outcome must be accepted with an open mind and heart.

"Obviously, the ROS will do its best in coming up with a fair decision so that there will not be any need to resort to the courts," he added.

Asked if he could guarantee that the decision taken by the ROS on Muhyiddin's complaint would be fair, Zahid said that although he had executive powers as home minister, he would not normally intervene in the decisions taken by agencies under him like the ROS.

"We have full confidence in the ability of the heads of departments of the agencies (under the ministry) to make the right decisions and normally do not interfere in their decisions," he noted.

On a separate matter, Zahid pointed out that Rural Transformation Centres (RTCs) play an important role in translating the government's delivery system to the people.

"The RTC - a brainchild of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak - is an out-of-the box transformation initiative by the government to bring government agencies closer to the people.

"I myself will monitor the operations of the Sungai Rambai RTC, which houses 33 government agencies under one roof to give top services to the people," he said.

The Sungai Rambai RTC at the Sungai Rambai R&R Building along the AMJ Highway (northbound) involved a cost of RM2.9 million and has attracted more than 80,000 visitors since it was opened on Dec 1.

- Bernama