Month: June 2021

UMNO has decided to postpone its party elections for 18 months.

Its secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the decision which was agreed to by the party’s Supreme Council (MT) was made in accordance with Clause 10.16 of the party constitution.

The clause states that MT has the power to postpone party polls at the supreme council, branch and division levels up to 18 months from the date when the elections are supposed to be held.

According to the party’s constitution, UMNO elections must be held every three years after the term for the party leadership ends. The last. party elections were held on June 30, 2018.

Ahmad said that the decision was also made on the advice of the Health director-general through a letter dated May 10, as well as the view from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) and the National Security Council (MKN) director-general, on the matter.

“The Health Ministry (MoH) and MKN had suggested that UMNO meetings and elections be held virtually.

“The MoH and MKN also mentioned that if UMNO is unable to conduct the elections virtually, the party may postponed the polls to a later date and until the COVID-19 situation is under control,” he said in a statement today.

According to Ahmad, 66,287 meetings and elections had to be held involving the attendance of 3.3 million UMNO members in addition to 764 conferences comprising delegates from four levels of divisional meetings, namely Division, Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings.

He said the conferences and meetings must be held simultaneously across two weekends which would be difficult during the current pandemic situation.

He added that UMNO has never conducted its meetings and conferences virtually due to the concern over potential technical errors and internet connection problems in rural areas.

However, Ahmad said the party branch and divisional level meetings, as well as its general assembly would still proceed with attendance of not more than 25 per cent to meet the annual association procedure.

He said that based on a proposal tabled at the MT meeting, the party branch and divisional level meetings must be held from Aug 15 to Sept 30.

“That meetings can be held virtually in areas with internet coverage, while for rural areas with bad internet access, face-to-face meetings can be held subject to approval by the authorities,” he said.

– BERNAMA

The Parliament has adequate facilities to implement a hybrid Dewan Rakyat sitting at anytime if necessary.

Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon said the Parliament was also in the process of finalising other technical aspects required.

“Of course we are prepared and the existing facilities are adequate, we are making additions to implement it (a hybrid sitting),” he told Bernama.

He said till now there has not been a set date for the Dewan Rakyat to convene and it will follow the Standing Orders that set the need to provide a 28-day notice before a sitting can convene.

“We leave it to the discretion of the Leader of the House for its implementation,” he said.

He said the implementation of a hybrid Parliament sitting is a new norm and it was not impossible that it would go down as a historical moment for Malaysia as it faces the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It also represents a new challenge for the Speaker as we will be dealing monitors to look at MPs,” he said.

Mohd Rashid said if a hybrid Dewan Rakyat sitting does happen, there will be several Standing Orders that require amendments, including the voting process, and all amendments required will be included as an addendum to the existing Standing Orders.

“One more example, the Parliament refers to the Federal Constitution Article 62 Parliamentary Procedure.”

“In 62(5) it is stated that members who do not attend a Parliamentary sitting are not allowed to vote. But if we refer to 62(1) it is subject to this Parliamentary provision and provisions of federal laws, that every Parliamentary sitting needs to regulate its own protocols,” he said.

When asked about how many MPs need to be present in the Dewan Rakyat if the amendments are to be passed, Mohd Rashid said the minimum number for a quorum is 26 MPs.

Previously, the Dewan Rakyat (with the Speaker’s ruling) had set a maximum of 80 MPs (in the Dewan Rakyat) but the actual total and method are still at the final stages of discussion.

– BERNAMA

PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has reminded members of the party not to be too obsessed with a leader or group.

He said the obsession would lead to acts of disobedience which were not ‘in line’ with the decisions made by the party leadership.

“Our weakness is that sometimes we are to obsessed with a leader, either me or others.”

“Therefore, our minds are no longer obedient to the party and leadership but we allow the existence of groups,” he said when winding-up debate at the 2020 PKR Annual National Congress which was held virtually today.

The Port Dickson MP stressed that issues on which there was disagreement could be discussed while those who were formerly part of the ‘cartel’ should also be given space.

Sixteen delegates spoke during the debate and a delegate from Kedah, Razaini Md Isa, suggested that the party president establish a new collaboration with various parties to ease the burden of the people affected by Covid-19 pandemic.

“We give the authority to the president to implement and redouble efforts to regain the people’s mandate and prioritise the fate of the people over political and personal interests,” he said.

Melaka delegate Muhammad Asri Ibrahim expressed his gratitude to all frontline personnel who have sacrificed their time and energy to contain the pandemic.

“I would like to suggest to the government that all civil servants who have served during this pandemic be given opportunity to redeem the Cash Award in Lieu of Leave (GCR),” he said.

About 2,000 delegates participated in the congress, held virtually through Zoom application, starting at 8.00am

– BERNAMA

PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stressed that the party is not spared from having members who have treacherous and corrupt attitudes.

As such, he called on all members to continue to uphold and defend the idealism of the party’s struggle, which rejects any element of corruption, abuse of power and treachery.

“We (need t0) strengthen the machinery (and) increase understanding. Are we the ‘perfect’ party? No… there are also treacherous leaders, there are those who when they have a position, start amassing wealth. In Keadilan (PKR), we see that there are also those who are corrupt.”

“(We) must return to polish the idealism of the party’s struggle… reject corruption, arrogance, abuse of power. Do not allow the emergence of leaders, state governments or figures who (will) build factions to stab us in the back like what we faced before,” he said today.

Anwar, who is also MP for Port Dickson, said this in his policy speech at the PKR 2020 Annual National Congress which was held entirely virtual, following the implementation of the Movement Control. Order (MCO) 3.0 which is still in force.

The National Congress, which was supposed to take place on June 6, was held today after being ordered to postponed by the National Security Council (MKN) and the Registrar of Societies (RoS) on June 4.

Anwar’s speech, followed by about 2,000 delegates, also touched on the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, saying that only by speeding up the vaccination process would Malaysia get out of the crisis fast.

– BERNAMA

The Central Leadership Council (MPP) of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has agreed not to fill some of the vacant posts at the central level until party elections are held.

PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said this was decided at an MPP meeting held on May 1, following several top positions such as deputy president, vice president and council members remaining vacant.

“With this, the running of the party at the central level will remain status quo without us filling the vacant positions after some of our old friends left the party,” he said in his welcome address at the party’s 2020 Annual National Congress today.

The posts were left vacant after former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and former vice-president Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin left the party last year, while Dr. A Xavier Jayakumar announced his resignation as PKR vice-president and as a member last March.

Saifuddin also announced that the 2021 Annual National Congress will be held simultaneously with the 2022 Congress next year.

He said the annual general meetings (AGM) for divisions will be held next year, but their respective annual reports will be submitted to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) this year.

Saifuddin also said that the Sungai Buloh division was awarded the division with the highest of new party registrations with some 6,259 new members joining the party between November 16 and April 29 this year.

Meanwhile, PKR chief organising secretary Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the party had 2,028 branches nationwide, including 259 new branches registered this year.

“We have decided to have on branch in polling districts for winnable seats targeted by the party,” he said in his welcome speech at the congress.

About 2,000 delegates joined the congress virtually through the Zoom application, starting at 8a.m.

– BERNAMA

The view expressed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah that Parliament should reconvene as soon as possible and that the government should accelerate the Covid-19 vaccination process is in line with the government’s ongoing efforts, said PAS Deputy President Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

Tuan Ibrahim said PAS also upholds His Majesty’s statement on the importance of having a stable and strong government to effectively deal with Covid-19 and revive the country’s economy, besides emphasising that all parties should reduce politicking so the government can focus on tackling the Covid-19 outbreak.

“His Majesty’s views on the parliamentary session are in line with the government’s commitment to hold a parliamentary session as stated by the Prime Minister.

“PAS is confident in the efforts and commitment of the federal government which has managed to provide over 200,000 Covid-19 vaccine injections consistently per day. It is a yardstick in achieving the target of vaccinating 80 per cent of the people by the end of this year,” he said in a statement today.

“The concern of His Majesty and the Malay Rulers should be viewed seriously by the people to ensure Malaysia is free from Covid-19,” he said.

The police have launched a probe into the report made against Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan for allegedly making ‘treasonous’ remark against Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said each report received by the police would definitely be investigated throughly, regardless of the status of the individuals involved.

Media had earlier reported that Amanah Youth chief Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin had lodged a report at the Dang Wangi Police Station in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, demanding an investigation into Takiyuddin’s statement which he claimed had undermined the King’s view that the Parliament should be reconvened as soon as possible.

Takiyuddin was reported to have said that His Majesty’s view on the reconvening of Parliament did not contain any details on when it should be implemented.

“So, let the police look into the report first… they need to identify the actual offence,” Hamzah said.

On whether Takiyuddin would be called to give his statement, the minister said: “Anyone who is mentioned in a police report will be investigated. No double standard on that.”

– BERNAMA

PAS agreed with UMNO’s suggestion not to pressure the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government to hold the 15th General Election (GE15) anytime soon as the country should be focusing on fighting the. Covid-19 pandemic, which has been deemed a grave emergency.

Its secretary-general, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, said the suggestion was appropriate and timely as the focus of attention of the state and federal governments should be on the efforts to fight the deadly coronavirus, which is still spreading in Malaysia and around the world.

“Political parties should also focus on efforts to help the people affected by the pandemic, not only in the aspect of health but also the economy,” he said in a statement here today.

He said this in response to the UMNO election director Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman’s statement yesterday that no parties including UMNO should pressure the government to hold the GE15 anytime soon as the country should be focusing on fighting Covid-19.

Takiyuddin, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law), said all political parties, as well as non-governmental organisations, should also give their cooperation to the government in handling and solving issues related to Covid-19, including issues that could raise tension and bring about a negative impact, as well as a waste time, energy and money.

“PAS is confident that the government will continue taking proactive measures after taking into consideration the opinions and suggestions from all quarters for the benefit of all Malaysians,” he said.

– BERNAMA