Umno to activate war room in case of by-elections, says Ahmad Maslan

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno will activate its war room at the six parliamentary areas held by Bersatu MPs who pledged support for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to prepare for the possibility of by-elections, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

The Umno supreme council member said the activation would be done following Bersatu’s move to amend its constitution to immediately strip the membership of any of its elected representative who pledges support that contradicts Bersatu’s directive or stand.

“We have faced several by-elections. Umno needs to be proactive by making preparations for any possibility of a ‘war.’

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“As the party’s chief of the war-room secretariat, I have instructed for the party’s office in the six constituencies to create a war-room to prepare whether or not by-elections will be announced,” he said.

Ahmad added there would be no problem for the Registrar of Societies (ROS) to approve the amendment of Bersatu’s constitution made on Saturday (Mar 2), similarly experienced by Umno when it amended its constitution to be aligned with the anti-hopping law.

“I do not see Bersatu facing any challenges getting the amendments being approved by the ROS, if they followed the procedure,” he added.

On Sunday, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Barisan Nasional is prepared to contest six parliamentary seats currently held by Bersatu if they are declared vacant.

Zahid said Umno and Barisan candidates should be given priority to contest in these constituencies.

On March 2, Bersatu held an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to amend Article 10 of the Bersatu Constitution to immediately strip the membership of any elected representative who pledges support that contradicts Bersatu’s directive or stand.

Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the party would send a report on the amendment to the RoS, and it would be enforced with immediate effect if approved.

The six Bersatu MPs who have expressed support for the Prime Minister are Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Datuk Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjong Karang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar) and Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan).