KUALA LUMPUR, 31 Mar: Did you know that the Umno branch in your area might be an illegal branch?
This is because it may not have been re-registered with the Registry of Societies Malaysia (ROS) after the party was banned in February 1988.
The Chief Coordinator of Youth Solidarity Malaysia (SAMM), Badrul Hisham Shaharin said that almost 75 percent of the many thousands of Umno branches in Malaysia have never been registered with ROS since the former New Umno was established in 1988.
Therefore, SAMM is inviting the public to join its campaign to take legal action against Umno by checking the status of Umno branches in their residence area with POS.
Badrul Hisham said that Umno feels that they are powerful; therefore thousands of Umno branches throughout the country chose to not re-register their political organisation as required in the Societies Act 1966.
“Surely 3/4 Umno branches throughout the country are illegal branches, in fact there are also Umno divisions that consist of divisions with invalid registration,” he added.
For example, in 2008 there was an upheaval at the Tanah Merah Umno division in Kelantan where they wanted to contest for main positions but did not pay their fees and consist of members from illegal branches.
“This was admitted personally by the Umno General Secretary (Tengku AdnanTengku Mansor) and the Registrar of Societies.
“Only court cases were thrown out because the complainant was an ex-Umno Member who was fired through a back-dated termination letter.
“(Therefore) The complainant lost his legal status as an Umno member to bring the case to court,” he said in a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) today.
According to Badrul Hisham, through the court process, a total of 126 Umno branches in Tanah Merah were found to be branches not registered with the ROS.
However, the Tanah Merah Umno continued to meet with representatives of illegal Umno branches (126 branches) and representation from the illegal meeting sent a representative to the Umno General Assembly that year (2008).
“It implied that the Umno General Assembly that year was also illegal because it was attended by illegal representatives from illegal Umno branches,” he added.
He said that up till now, there are more than 2,181 Umno branches in Kelantan that are illegal including those in Jeli, Bachok, Tumpat and also in Kota Bharu.
SAMM and the 13 Blogger Revolution Coalition invites the people of this country to help gather information on the total number of Umno branches that are not registered so that legal action can be taken against them.
“You can also go to the Registry of Societies Office in your respective states, take the Societies 27 form, fill it out and make a search of Umno branches in your area. Channel the information to us so that we can refuse illegal organisations as our country’s rulers.
“According to Section 10 of the Societies Act 1966, all citizens of Malaysia are given the right to inspect registration documents of any organisation registered in Malaysia, with the exemption of confidential documents such as financial reports,” he added.
