Umno assembly to decide on future with Bersatu on Jan 31

 

The Umno supreme council has decided to bring the matter of the party’s strained relations with Bersatu to a vote at the Umno general assembly, which would be held on Jan 31.

Party information chief Shahril Hamdan said the supreme council arrived at this decision after deliberating all motions forwarded by Umno’s 189 divisions.

Three of the salient points raised by grassroots leaders were to strengthen relations with PAS, cut ties with Bersatu when the 15th general election comes around, and lobby for the election to be held by the end of the first quarter of 2021 depending on the country’s Covid-19 situation.

“The (supreme council) meeting has agreed to bring these motions to the Umno general assembly on Jan 31, 2021 to debate and make a decision at the party’s highest level, as mandated by the (party) constitution,” he said.

Shahril issued a statement on the matter following an Umno supreme council meeting on Wednesday night (Jan 6).

Bersatu also held its own supreme council meeting on the same night, where it was expected to make a decision on its future relations with Umno. It is expected to make an announcement the next day (Jan 7).

Meanwhile, Shahril said there were several factors why the Umno supreme council decided to bring the matter to be deliberated by the general assembly.

This was because the motions by the Umno divisions involve matters of policy and the party’s fundamental approach, which would have a great impact on the party and the nation’s future.

In addition, the Umno constitution provides for motions by party divisions to be brought to the general assembly, which was already scheduled to be held on Jan 31.

He said grassroots leaders wanted the cooperation with PAS to be strengthened, taking into account the 22 months of cooperation that the two parties enjoyed in the federal opposition as the Muafakat Nasional coalition.

Umno grassroots leaders also clamoured for the election to be held soon to seek a fresh mandate from the people, but this depends on the Covid-19 situation in the country.

On another matter, Shahril said the meeting also took note of Annuar Musa’s removal as BN secretary-general.

“The matter has already been given verbal approval by (BN) component party presidents and would be ratified at the coming BN supreme council meeting,” he said.

He also noted in his statement that the BN secretary-general post is traditionally held by the Umno secretary-general, which is currently Ahmad Maslan. - Mkini