Ku Li: Get ROS to repeal quota system
Malaysiakini.com
Jun 21, 2008
Ahti Veeranggan

The conditional nomination quota to contest in Umno elections is unconstitutional and against democractic spirit, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said in Penang today.
MCPX

As such, the Gua Musang MP wants party branches to challenge its legality by asking the Registrar of Societies (ROS) to repeal it.

Even as he conceded that the registrar would probably not endorse the request to revoke the conditional quota eligibility, the former Umno vice-president said it would at least make party executives “ponder over it”.

tengku razaleigh umno roadshow 160608 07In an apparent attempt to galvanise massive support to annul the quota, he called on party branches to be bold enought to complain to the ROS soon and "see what happens."

Razaleigh stressed that the requirement to garner certain percentage of divisional nominations, between 10 and 30 per cent, to contest supreme council and top leadership positions was against the constitutional norms and democratic practices in the country and Umno as well.

"A democratic system should do away with this quota.

"If the leadership is not keen, then grassroots members should do it," he told some 100 Umno branch leaders from Penang and Kedah at a forum on current issues organised by NGO Caring Malays Coalition in Penang.

"Although the ROS may not repeal it since its officers were answerable to the government of the day, nevertheless the party top brass can sense grassroots feelings against it," he said.

Due to the quota requiring an Umno member to secure at least 30 per cent of divisional nominations to contest for the presidency, presidential aspirant Razaleigh probably feared he would come short of it.

'Let's challenge it'

Whether Umno branches will heed his call remains to seen as none of the branch leaders present at the forum showed any commitment to it.

The Umno electoral quota system, which covers even divisional polls, was introduced by former Umno president and premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad after Tengku Razaleigh narrowly lost to him in the bitter 1987 party contest.

sapp sabah pc 180608He declined comment when asked whether Mahathir had gone against the spirit of the party and democratic norms, saying he did not wish to point a finger at anyone.

"As it is now the provision is unconstitutional, so let's challenge it," he said.

On Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) move to support a motion of no-confidence against Abdullah in parliament on Monday, he said as a member of the Barisan Nasional coalition government, the Sabah-based party has its freedom and rights to voice out its displeasure against the leadership.

Nonetheless he said the SAPP move had damaged the premier's credibility, and lamented that the leadership was still in a state of denial refusing to read the writing on the wall.

He said the SAPP decision not to pull out from the coalition government while expressing no confidence on Abdullah was not a challenge inviting BN to sack it.

"SAPP wants BN partners to think about it," he said.

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