‘If fairness reigns, Umno won’t be outlawed’

Party man Azim Zabidi points out that the government has promised to follow the rule of law.

Former Umno treasurer Azim Zabidi says Umno’s request for party polls to be delayed was according to legal provisions. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Former Umno treasurer Azim Zabidi has sought to allay fears that his party will be deregistered, saying it won’t happen if the government keeps to its promise to follow the rule of law in investigating the actions of department heads, such as the Registrar of Societies.

“We have already looked at the legal implications,” he said. “We found that if there’s a fair hearing and if the rule of law is followed, we shouldn’t be made illegal.”

He noted that the law allowed organisations to seek postponements of their annual general meetings and said this should apply to Umno’s request to delay its internal elections.

“From that point of view, I think it will be very difficult to declare Umno illegal,” he said.

“The only thing to fear is the possibility of interference. I hope there won’t be because the current government has already stated that it will follow the rule of law.”

Last month, 16 Umno members from five states filed a challenge questioning Umno’s legal status because it has not held elections since 2013.

“There were extenuating reasons for the delay in the party polls,” Aziz said. “We were supposed to have it in April, but with May being the month when the general election was to be held, it was not feasible.

“It’s not like we delayed the polls for fun.”

Azim also addressed the question of turning Umno into a formidable opposition party, saying plans were already underway to revive it so that it would be relevant to the times.

However, he acknowledged that the effort would take time.

“Umno being Umno, it can’t move very quickly,” he said. “It’s like the Titanic. It takes a long time to steer it either to the left or to the right. But the plans are there and we will play our role as a strong opposition.”

He said the the acting president of the party, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had met with all the division heads and supreme council members for this purpose. -FMT