Hamzah denies RoS didn’t approve rule change on membership

Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said claims that there were flaws in the process of amending the regulations on party memberships are untrue.

PETALING JAYA: Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin has denied Selat Klang assemblyman Abdul Rashid Asari’s claim the party had amended its rules on memberships without the Registrar of Societies’ (RoS) approval.

Hamzah said Rashid’s claim that there were flaws in the process of changing Bersatu’s constitution, which purportedly saw memberships opened up to all Malaysian Muslims as opposed to only Bumiputeras, is not true.

“I stress once again that the process and procedure of amending Bersatu’s constitution was carried out meticulously in line with the party’s constitution,” he said in a statement.

Rashid, who has ceased to be a Bersatu member, had claimed the party’s constitution in 2019 outlined that only Bumiputeras are eligible to become party members.

He claimed this was discreetly amended without the RoS’s green light, with the constitution in 2021 stating that any Malaysian Muslim can become a Bersatu member.

Rashid said this in disputing the memberships of two Bersatu Supreme Council members – Rafiq Abdullah and Yazid Yunus – whom he asserts are not Bumiputeras.

Separately, Hamzah welcomed the High Court’s decision to reject Azizi Abu Naim’s bid to halt the Nenggiri by-election, saying it serves as a catalyst for Bersatu to achieve victory in the coming polls.

He also said the court’s ruling yesterday showed that the party was being managed in an orderly and prudent manner.

Bersatu had said Azizi’s membership ceased after he failed to declare his loyalty to the party and because of his continued support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration.

The Kelantan state assembly speaker then declared his seat vacant, with the Election Commission fixing Aug 17 for the by-election.

Azizi, who is also the Gua Musang MP, has filed a suit to challenge his purported sacking as well as the vacancy of the Nenggiri state seat.

Yesterday, the High Court denied his application for a temporary injunction to halt the by-election.