Simpang Renggam Bersatu rejects Muhyiddin's pick to replace Maszlee

Simpang Renggam Bersatu has opposed party president Muhyiddin Yassin's reported pick of the division's acting chief to replace Maszlee Malik.

A statement signed by 19 division leaders said the elevation of deputy chief A'zman Mohd Umar, reportedly on June 5, was invalid as Maszlee (above) was still the rightful head of the division.

"He (Maszlee) is not a pro-tem division chief but had won in the division elections run by the party's own election committee," they said.

They added the termination of Maszlee's membership was also invalid as it did not follow Bersatu's constitution.

Among those who signed the statement were Simpang Renggam Bersatu's vice- chief Sidek Arifin, Youth chief A Azri Hassan and Women's chief Faridah Jemali.

Bersatu had terminated the membership of Maszlee together with disputed chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad and three others for not sitting with the Perikatan Nasional government during the May 18 parliamentary session. The termination has been disputed.

Simpang Renggam Bersatu also declared that they will continue support Maszlee to "restore the party's dignity".

"We will not allow any efforts to divide the grassroots in Simpang Renggam," they said.

Bersatu is split between the Muhyiddin and Mahathir factions, with the former siding with Perikatan Nasional and the latter with Pakatan Harapan. - Mkini