Pro-Mahathir quartet walks out of PPBM top council meeting

(FMT) – Four PPBM leaders aligned to Dr Mahathir Mohamad walked out of the party’s Supreme Council meeting tonight, ahead of a decision to reaffirm the former chairman’s membership termination.

Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi, Tariq Ismail, Abu Bakar Yahya and Ulya Aqamah Husamuddin also protested the move to hold the meeting, saying any decision from it would be invalid.

“The party should first have its elections,” Akhramsyah told reporters, but refused to reveal what was discussed at the meeting.

He also denied that the group was representing Mahathir.

Meanwhile, party secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said they will hold a press conference tomorrow (Friday) on what was discussed at the meeting tonight.

Tonight’s meeting comes a week after the party announced that the membership of Mahathir and four others – his son Mukhriz, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Amiruddin Hamzah and Maszlee Malik – had automatically been terminated.

The five had on May 18 joined the opposition bench in the Dewan Rakyat.

Mahathir resigned as chairman after stepping down as prime minister in February, ahead of PPBM’s exit from Pakatan Harapan.

The veteran politician has since said he is still the chairman, despite the Registrar of Societies confirming his resignation.