Umno supreme council member Razlan Rafii (above) has questioned if Bersatu is threatening to deregister the party.
Yesterday, Bersatu leader Muhammad Faiz Na’aman urged the Registrar of Societies (ROS) to probe an allegation about Umno’s “secret” unaudited bank account.
In a statement today, Razlan accused Faiz of “threatening” Umno when the party needed Umno’s support.
“I am sure the ROS knows the scope of their work. Bersatu leaders do not have to rush to have Umno banned.
“Using a technical excuse, for this reason, is an ungentlemanly move. Bersatu should fight Umno by winning the people’s hearts, not by trying to bring down a party that was established by the people in 1946,” Razlan said.
“One criticism after another has been hurled at Umno as if the party is hated in the eyes of those in Bersatu. I want to remind Bersatu leaders not to forget that Muhyiddin Yassin is the prime minister today because of Umno’s goodwill,” he added.
Muhyiddin’s legitimacy came into question after two Umno MPs withdrew their support for him last month, leaving him with 109 out of 220 lawmakers on his side.
Bersatu and Umno are allies in the Perikatan Nasional government but are increasingly at odds with one another.
Razlan also took a dig at Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin, who oversees ROS in his capacity as the home minister.
“Faiz is implicitly trying to show off by teaching his party’s secretary-general (Hamzah) how to do real work at the ministry.
“Maybe this is one of the reasons why many parties that want to be registered can’t do so. Apparently, there is interference by Bersatu leaders in the Home Ministry,” he claimed.
Bersatu was set up back in 2016 to challenge Umno for the Malay vote in GE14. It won the election as a part of Pakatan Harapan and later accepted a slew of Umno defectors.
However, it quit the coalition in February 2020 to join forces with Umno and other opposition parties to form the Perikatan Nasional government.
Yesterday, government prosecutors in a 1MDB-linked forfeiture suit against Umno’s Obyu Holdings said the party had a secret unaudited account specifically to receive political donations.
Umno claimed the money belonged to the party, but the prosecution claimed there were political donations.
“The unaccounted, unverified and unaudited nature of cash seized is also in contravention of various provisions of the Societies Act, which may result in the de-registration of Umno by the ROS,” the prosecution had contended.
ROS urged to not jump the gun
Meanwhile, opposition lawmaker Hassan Abdul Karim hoped the ROS would refrain from taking any "premature" action on Umno.
"The prosecution's statement in court is not conclusive, we need to hear from Umno's side as well.
"The judge needs to examine the documentary evidence and witness statements to decide if the prosecution's revelation can be accepted. The ROS can only act based on the judge's final judgement," he said in a separate statement today.
"Or else the ROS will be acting prematurely," added the PKR Pasir Gudang MP. - Mkini
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