KUALA LUMPUR – The sacking and suspension of several Umno members on Friday is valid, party information chief Isham Jalil said.
He said Umno lawyers, citing the party’s constitution, have said that the sacking and suspension of party members need only be referred to the Supreme Council.
Isham, who is an Umno Supreme Council member, said other processes involving the disciplinary board and so on were actually only internal management practices.
“And so when the Supreme Council has endorsed the sackings and suspensions of the Umno members, then the sackings and suspensions are valid,” he said in a Facebook post today.
On Friday, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, in a statement issued after the Supreme Council meeting, announced the sackings of Supreme Council member Tan Sri Noh Omar and former Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin for breaching the party’s constitution.
Also sacked were five Umno members from the Pasir Gudang division, nine from the Putrajaya division, two from the Tanjung Karang division and 26 members from Pahang.
Sembrong Umno division chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, meanwhile, was suspended for six years along with Umno Youth vice-chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan, Tebrau Umno division chief Datuk Maulizan Bujang and Jempol Umno division chief Datuk Seri Mohd Salim Mohd Sharif.
Ahmad said among the offences committed were standing as independent candidates, being candidates of parties other than Barisan Nasional, and helping opposition parties during the 15th general election.
Isham said he was confident that the party’s disciplinary board had examined available reports and evidence before making a decision, stressing that Supreme Council members did not interfere in the investigation process and the decision that followed.
He said Noh, Khairy and the others can still defend themselves and appeal several times to the disciplinary board.
“If Tan Sri Noh and Khairy as well as the others can disprove the evidence against them, I believe the disciplinary board will decide fairly,” he said. – Bernama, January 29, 2023
