Saturday, May 05, 2018

UMNO sacking members without due process - no right to be heard?

UMNO - sacking members without even according them the right to be heard... Well, that is exactly what happens when the Detention Without Trial Laws are used - you are arrested - no right to trial - no right to even challenge the alleged reasons used for the detention in court...Total arbitrariness..

"I have sent them the letters that they are no longer Umno members. As far as I'm concerned, they are no longer Umno veterans, and not even members," he said.As the party's secretary-general, I will not tolerate such nonsense. I will take action. I don't care who they are," Tengku Adnan told The Star on Saturday (May 5)....We believe in the concept of walak (loyalty) which means you listen to your leader," he added.
'...listen to your leader'...? What? Did the UMNO Supreme Council even meet to decide - or in UMNO, all powerful is the leader only (or it simply was a Tengku Adnan mistake or a reporting error?)

UMNO-BN seem to be very worried even with its own party members...that seem the indication of sacking members without even a show cause letter, without even a right to be heard and tried before the party's disciplinary board. I t would have been OK if the said Daim, Rafidah and Rais Yatim ...were given a show cause letter...then brought before the Disciplinary Board...

Anyway, a political party do not control the right of a member when it comes to voting in the General Election - they are FREE to vote for their own MP and ADUN...they choose the best candidate...Remember people join political parties in Malaysia for various reasons...but that does not mean that they SURRENDER their voting rights when it comes to chosing their MP and ADUN. Many may not vote for their party candidate but this does not mean they are against the objectives of the party - just maybe, considering all factors, they feel they have a moral responsibility to vote for a better candidate...

Further, if one look at political party elections - seldom does any leader get 100% support of all its members in party elections. In democracy, the person with the highest votes win...but then, when it comes to Najib, how many members in UMNO really want him to remain UMNO President - Well, in the last elections in 2013, he was uncontested...and since then, there has been no elections in UMNO...elections was supposed to be held every 3 years - but in UMNO, they delayed it 18 months(which is allowed in their Constitution), and thereafter extended it again (something apparently not provided for in the UMNO Constitution - and the Registrar of Society said OK?)..

Then, in recent years, we have seen the No.2(Deputy President), being removed and one of 3 Vice Presidents also. 

UMNO alleges that it has 3.3 million members - but unfortunately, all members do not have the right to vote for the President and the UMNO Supreme Council.

What about Barisan Nasional? Is it democratic? Do they even have elections? Well looking at the leadership - we find that UMNO holds the position of Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Secretary General, Treasurer General, Women Leader, Youth Leader, Strategc Communication Director and Secretary...It somponent parties hold one Vice Chairman position, and Supreme Council Members position. Could not find the BN Constitution...

Well, does the component parties really have any say in BN and how the government is run? Or they now merely 'obedient' followers of UMNO? Does the BN even ensure that the main leaders of the component parties of BN are given SAFE seats - Well looking at the last few GEs, we find that the number of UMNO MPs and ADUNs far exceed the number of MP/ADUNs from the BN component parties...

In some constituency even where there is a BN component party MP/ADUN, one wonders whether in reality, the UMNO division leader may be given more prominence...

At the last GE, even when it was announced that the BN had won the elections, on stage we did not see the component party leaders ...even in the lead was Najib, and beside him were UMNO persons - when before, it would have been the President of UMNO, MCA, MIC, GERAKAN,... Is BN really a coalition of different ethnic and other parties? 

When all members of UMNO (or other political parties) do not accord the right to all members to vote in the National leaders - it is most difficult to see what is the grass root support - is it 3.3million - cause we do not see 3 million votes, do we? When this basic rights of members are denied, it is undemocratic..

The last UMNO Elections was after GE13...and now, it looks like the next one will be after GE14. Remembering, the Malaysian political party culture, where the selection of candidates for MP/ADUN is very much with the central leadership - party 'loyalty' is preserved - so no one questions or challenges the PM(the Party President) because if they do, they may lose the chance to be MP/ADUN - the last General Meeting of UMNO saw almost no quetions about the issues of concern in Malaysia - 1MDB, the money that ended in the PM's personal account, etc ..It was odd - for in other societies, like the Malaysian Bar, there will always be many opinions against and criticism of existing leadership - but UMNO General Meeting was...

DEMOCRACY - That is what Malaysians want - and that include the right to express a different opinion from the incumbent leadership, and to also criticize certain decisions/actions, and to seek clarifications on issues of concern...Did UMNO have it? Or is it a 'feudalistic' like party - where after elections, all members are simply supposed to blindly loyally follow and do as the elected leaders say...

Well, Najib's and really the UMNO-BN style has been just that in government - freedom of opinion, expression and 'questioning' are not the UMNO-BN way. Most shocking was the complete ignoring and not even providing an answer/clarification/explanation...which was evident when the issue of the billions of ringgit found in Najib's personal account - Najib chose 'silence' - and did not personally provide any explanation whatsoever...making him maybe, in my opinion, the Prime Minister with the worse attitude in the history of democratic Malaysia...

Well, at the same time, some of the other parties like Pribumi, PKR and PAS has bad examples of expelling members without according a right to be heard...



 

Sacked! Rais, Daim and Rafidah axed from Umno

PETALING JAYA: Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor confirmed that the party has expelled three former Umno ministers for colluding with the Opposition.

Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the memberships of Tun Daim Zainuddin, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and Tan Sri Rais Yatim have been withdrawn automatically for their actions.

"I have sent them the letters that they are no longer Umno members. As far as I'm concerned, they are no longer Umno veterans, and not even members," he said.

"As the party's secretary-general, I will not tolerate such nonsense. I will take action. I don't care who they are," Tengku Adnan told The Star on Saturday (May 5).

Asked if the decision had the green light from party president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Tengku Adnan said the clearance was sought "a long time ago and the president knows."

"So I just went ahead. As the party's sec-gen, I cannot see the party destroyed," said Tengku Adnan.

He said the trio were sacked for campaigning for the Opposition, which is against the party's constitution and code of ethics.
 
"They are aware of this and they know what is coming. I feel sad because we have been supporting them all the time before. We believe in the concept of walak (loyalty) which means you listen to your leader," he added.

Tengku Adnan said Umno and Barisan Nasional have given the trio many opportunities.

"So how can you back-stab us?"

Attempts by The Star to reach Rafidah, Daim and Rais are ongoing.- Star, 5/5/2018

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