Sng: Disciplinary committee to be formed to deal with power struggle in PBM
SIBU: Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) will set up a disciplinary committee to deal with its leadership issue, says president Larry Sng (pic).
He said that the committee would be set up during a meeting that has been called for Sunday (Oct 30) to clarify the recent saga of power struggle in the party.
“We will also discuss what has transpired in the last few days (power struggle) and on the 15th General Election,” he said.
On who would be attending the meeting, he said the committee members were being notified.
“We are already calling them and will also issue a letter of notice to them,” he said.
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On whether he would still be signing the “watikah” (letter of appointment for candidates) to Datuk Zuraida Kamarudin and the others to contest in GE15, he said he would issue a statement after the meeting.
In a statement on Saturday (Oct 29), Sng said to clear the matter on what’s happening in PBM, it was important to understand the chronology of events that had transpired during this month.
“On Oct 1, 2022, PBM held its AGM (annual general meeting) whereby in my speech I thanked the president-designate, Datuk Zuraida Kamarudin, for joining PBM and indicated my intention to make her my successor in the party at a ‘suitable time’ in the near future. A motion of thanks was passed unanimously by members of the delegates on this matter,” he said.
This was reported clearly in a news article which came out in The Star on Oct 2, he added.
He clarified that he had not resigned, been sacked or left to join any other political party, so therefore there was no vacancy in the position of the president.
“Subsequently a notice of the supreme council meeting was issued on Oct 5, not under my instruction, for a meeting to be held on Oct 7. This meeting is not valid because, under the party constitution Clause 21 (I) & (II), the power to call for any meeting is by the president and seven days’ notice must be issued unless waived by the president.
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“The timing of the meeting also coincided with the Budget 2023 speech, whereby all PBM MPs were present in Parliament. This meeting was chaired by the deputy president, YB Haniza, and was attended by several supreme council members but largely composed by party members who are not recognised as supreme council members by the Registrar of Society (ROS). I understand that their meeting didn’t even meet the required quorum of half of all supreme council under Clause 21 (III),” he said.
Since that meeting, the secretary-general has issued statements alleging that Zuraida has been appointed as the new president.
According to Sng, there was no such provision in the party constitution that allows for the removal of the president or any elected supreme council member unless it was done so in the AGM under Clause 14 (I) & (II), which did not take place.
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“It was also decided in that invalid meeting, that the secretary-general was appointed to represent the party in signing the watikah for candidates during the general election. This clearly usurps the power of the president, as I have had in the past been the sole signatory to sign the watikah for all our candidates in the Johor state election,” he said
Due to all these happenings, he said he had taken the necessary steps to suspend the secretary-general and the information chief, followed by the deputy president and the supreme council members who have plunged the party into disrepute and caused much uncertainty over the legitimately elected office of the president and acted against the interest of the party delegates.
“The wishes of the party delegates at our extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in January 2022 in Sibu, who have elected the party leadership lineup, must be respected,” he said.