Bersatu secretary-general Azmin Ali has rejected PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s claim that Bersatu is no longer part of Perikatan Nasional (PN), saying the statement contradicts the coalition’s constitution.
Azmin said there was no provision in the PN constitution stating that a party would automatically lose its membership after announcing plans to establish a new political coalition.
He explained that Bersatu’s status within PN could only be decided by the coalition’s presidential council in accordance with Clause 7A of the constitution.
“No clause in the PN constitution provides for the automatic termination of a party’s membership.
“Bersatu’s position as a PN member party can only be finalised by the presidential council. So far, the council has not convened to decide on Bersatu’s membership status. Therefore, Bersatu remains a legitimate member of PN,” he said in a statement.
Before the Negeri Sembilan state election, Bersatu had maintained that it was still part of PN, stating that any decision to remove a component party must receive consensus from all member parties based on the coalition’s constitution.
Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin later announced that the party would work towards forming a new and stronger political coalition with several other parties after the state election.
Earlier, Hadi claimed that under the PN constitution, any party that chose to join or establish another alliance would automatically lose its membership in the coalition.
Azmin, however, said Hadi did not have the authority or veto power to determine Bersatu’s position in PN, describing the PAS president’s statement as reckless and a sign of misunderstanding regarding the coalition’s constitution.
He added that Bersatu would submit an official complaint to the Registrar of Societies over the alleged exclusion of its representatives from a PN Supreme Council meeting that discussed seat allocations and cooperation with Barisan Nasional (BN) for the Negeri Sembilan state election.
According to Azmin, the actions taken by PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar and secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan had gone against the coalition’s constitution.
