SHAH ALAM: Bersatu’s annual general meeting laid bare the party’s financial woes, with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin saying the party was finding it tough to get things going with its accounts frozen.
The Bersatu president said the accounts have been frozen by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Com-mission (MACC) beyond the legal limit of 12 months, despite no charges being brought against the party.
Muhyiddin said Bersatu’s attempts to open new bank accounts were blocked, leaving the party unable to manage its finances effectively.
“This is unfair and unconstitutional. The party has never been charged with any wrongdoing, so why are we being punished like this?
“I have discussed this with our legal team and asked them to explore all avenues to act against the authorities responsible,” he told a press conference at the close of the party’s annual conference here yesterday.
Muhyiddin, who is the Perikatan Nasional chairman, hit out at the MACC for instructing the bank involved not to release funds from Bersatu’s accounts, calling the directive “oppressive”.
“We are also considering legal action against the bank which has failed to allow us access to our accounts. This has made it impossible for us to cover our expenses and meet our commitments,” he added.
Muhyiddin said this has severely hampered the party’s operations and infringed on its Consti-tutional rights.
“Our lawyers have advised that the freeze is unjustified under the law, as MACC can only freeze accounts for up to 12 months,” he pointed out.
The former prime minister revealed that Bersatu filed an application in court to unfreeze its accounts, but the hearing initially scheduled for this year was postponed to Jan 23 next year.
“Our secretary-general and lawyers attended the hearing, but no decision was made, and it was delayed again.
“Even to organise a gathering like this, which costs about RM400,000, we had to collect small contributions from members because we cannot access our accounts,” he said.
Party treasurer-general Datuk Seri Rina Harun described Bersatu’s financial situation as “critical”, saying it is a challenge to even meet the grassroots.
In January last year, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed that several Bersatu accounts had been frozen to assist in an investigation.
He said this was done to facilitate a probe into funds suspected to have been obtained from illegal proceeds.
In his winding-up speech earlier, Muhyiddin reminded Bersatu division leaders to be more proactive in the effort to strengthen the party.
Highlighting the issue of stagnant leadership, he told division heads not to act as though they could hold on to their positions forever.
“It is embarrassing if a division has only three branches after so long. Every division must have at least 10 branches. This is a matter of pride and responsibility,” he said, adding that an audit would be held to evaluate the performance of division leaders.
On another matter, Muhyiddin said Bersatu will review the proposal to increase its seat allocation in Sarawak.
“We need to do this in phases according to the constituencies we have a chance of winning,” he said.
On Saturday, a Bersatu delegate from Sarawak, Ambrose Labang Anak Jamba, proposed that the party leadership consider contesting 12 state seats in the state election scheduled for 2026.
Bersatu has not officially contested in any Sarawak elections. In 2021, the party chose to defer to the local coalition, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), and did not field any candidate.
