Umno supreme council just caretaker for now until party polls held, says RoS

PETALING JAYA: The Umno supreme council leadership can only function in a caretaker capacity until the completion of its 2021 annual general assembly and party polls, says the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

Its director-general Jasri Kasim said the Umno supreme council led by party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi can only carry out administrative matters before the period of the party polls.

He also refuted talk that Umno can be deregistered easily as it is still led by its permanent chairman during the period that the supreme council is functioning.

"At this time, it is only like a caretaker; it can only do administrative work or normal party management

"In terms of implementation, (or all) policy decisions, they must be brought to the general assembly first because of this caretaker status," he told Utusan Malaysia on Monday (Aug 9).

Jasri also noted that the ROS already received the party's explanation letter regarding the 18-month delay, with the ROS stating that it is invalid considering that the term of the supreme council officer bearers for 2018/2021 had ended on June 30.

He said that the ROS will look into the explanations it received as the party had submitted new information.

However, he could not reveal the details of the letter before looking at the explanations one by one.

"I have informed Umno's side that the issue is a straightforward matter only, and we have listen to their explanations. We will look into all of them," he added.

On Monday (Aug 9), the Umno president had questioned the motive behind the recent announcement by the ROS, asking Umno to submit a fresh application to defer its elections along with fixed dates for the polls.

“We are concerned if the latest development is just a desperate move by the Perikatan Nasional government to pressure Umno,” said Ahmad Zahid.

On Friday, the ROS said that the decision by the Umno supreme council to postpone party polls for 18 months on July 7 was invalid, adding that it also found “irregularities” in the move.

Ahmad Zahid said Umno would not accept the ROS’ demands for the party to hold its elections this year.

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