2 PPBM leaders dispute removal of Dr M and others from party

PPBM Supreme Council member Tariq Ismail has accused those in the party allied to PN of misinterpreting the rules and PPBM’s constitution because they are ‘power-hungry’.

PETALING JAYA: A PPBM Supreme Council member has questioned the move to nullify the membership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and four others while the party’s deputy youth leader insists Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is still the wing’s chief.

Tariq disputed the reasoning for the removal of the five MPS from the party while PPBM deputy youth chief Mohd Aizad Roslan said he had not been notified of any meeting where action was to be taken against Syed Saddiq.

Their statements add to the state of confusion surrounding PPBM and demonstrate the heated leadership struggle within the party between two factions — one led by Mahathir and the other by party president Muhyiddin Yassin..

The letters sent to the five MPs had cited Clauses 10.2.2 and 10.2.3 of PPBM’s constitution which state that members can be sacked immediately if they join another political party or declare that they are exiting PPBM.

Tariq said the party’s constitution only prohibited members from contesting under the logos of other parties.

Tariq said the seating arrangement in the Dewan Rakyat was not based on the party but on the individual MP’s support for the government of the day.

”Just because the support for a prime minister was considered en bloc according to the party for the past 62 years, it doesn’t mean this is how democracy should be practised.

“Just because previous prime ministers had the support of all party members, it doesn’t mean the constitution of the country and party prohibits differences in support for the nation’s leadership,” he said in a statement today.

He accused those in the party allied to Perikatan Nasional (PN) of misinterpreting the rules and PPBM’s constitution because they were “power-hungry”.

Mahathir, Mukhriz Mahathir, Syed Saddiq, Maszlee Malik and Amiruddin Hamzah had their PPBM memberships “automatically nullified” after they defied the party by joining the opposition bench in the Dewan Rakyat.

Mahathir was the chairman of the party while his son, Mukhriz, was deputy president and was set to contest the president’s post. Syed Saddiq was the youth wing’s chief.

Meanwhile, Aizad said he was not notified of any meeting to discuss Syed Saddiq’s status in the party, adding that every decision about a member’s position in the party should go through the right procedures and according to the party’s constitution.

He also said Syed Saddiq had not received any letter or official information on his termination as a PPBM member.

“I fully support Syed Saddiq as PPBM Youth’s legitimate leader according to PPBM’s party constitution,” he said. - FMT