Umno to decide on fate of ex-Senate deputy president next week

Ali Mohamad, the former Tangga Batu Umno chief, has claimed to have joined Bersatu.

(FMT) – Umno will decide on the position of former Senate deputy president Ali Mohamad next week, after the ex-Tangga Batu division chief claimed he had joined Bersatu.

Party secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the matter will be raised when the Umno Supreme Council meets this week, adding that a formal complaint had been filed by Tangga Batu Umno recently.

He added that the party’s division had furnished evidence that Ali was not a Bersatu member, Berita Harian reported.

“If it’s true that he’s now a Bersatu member, then his (Umno) membership would be automatically terminated, as the party constitution states that members who register with another political party will lose their membership once it’s confirmed by the Supreme Council,” he said.

Former Melaka chief minister Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik recently claimed Ali had joined Bersatu two weeks ago and planned to set up 20 branches in Tangga Batu itself before the next elections.

During the divisional Umno elections in March last year, Ali lost the race for the Tangga Batu Umno chief’s post to Rais Yasin by a meagre four votes.

Utusan Malaysia recently quoted Ali as accusing Umno of veering from its original struggle, and that only “a few” who are still in the party are genuinely championing the Malays and Islam.