Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali has insisted the party remains a legitimate member of Perikatan Nasional (PN), rejecting PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang’s assertion that Bersatu’s membership in the coalition had automatically lapsed.
In a strongly worded statement, Azmin said there was no provision in the PN constitution that allows a member party’s membership to be terminated automatically.
He said Bersatu’s position in the coalition could only be determined by the PN Presidential Council under Article 7A of the coalition’s constitution, adding that the council had yet to convene to decide on Bersatu’s membership.
“Therefore, Bersatu remains a legitimate member of Perikatan Nasional,” Azmin said.
He also argued that the PAS president had no veto power to unilaterally determine Bersatu’s status in PN, saying Hadi’s position was inconsistent with the coalition’s constitution.
Earlier, Hadi said Bersatu was automatically no longer part of PN after party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was quoted as saying that Bersatu intended to form a new coalition with several other parties following the Negeri Sembilan state election.
Hadi said PN therefore did not need to issue any formal notification to Bersatu over its status, as the party was deemed to have left the coalition once it expressed its intention to establish another alliance.
Azmin said Bersatu would lodge an official complaint with the Registrar of Societies over what he described as a serious breach of PN’s constitution.
He further accused the PAS-dominated coalition leadership of disregarding good governance and acting arbitrarily and undemocratically, deepening the dispute over Bersatu’s place within PN.
