Claims of branch dissolution, party members quitting common before election - Armada chief

SHAH ALAM: Allegations of the dissolution of political party branches and members quitting were common in the run-up to a general or state election, said Armada (Bersatu Youth) chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal.

However, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, who is also the Titiwangsa Bersatu division chief, said support for a party, including Bersatu, could not be measured by the loss of members alone because the victory of a political party in an election was also determined by swing votes.

"I feel we should allow democracy to prevail in the Johor state election in deciding if Bersatu is relevant or not. InsyaAllah (God willing), I believe that with the existing machinery and the sentiment towards Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's (leadership) still strong, Bersatu and other parties may deliver surprises."

Wan Ahmad Fayhsal said this to reporters following a report today by a news portal which claimed that five Tanjung Piai Bersatu division branches, namely, Pekan Nanas Timur, Pekan Nanas Selatan, Ladang Sos Malaya, Melayu Raya and Lubuk Sawah had been dissolved when the branch heads along with more than 300 members suddenly quit the party, last night.

On another development, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, who is Deputy National Unity Minister, suggested that the bank moratorium be extended until the country fully recovers, especially in terms of the economy and having more job opportunities to help the people.

He said the withdrawal of money from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) was not a solution that could be used to help the people in need.

"There must be other financial instruments that the Finance Ministry and Bank Negara need to use, especially involving the moratorium. There is no problem for them to extend the moratorium but this matter needs close scrutiny on behalf of Bank Negara and the Finance Ministry," he added.

Earlier, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal inspected the condition of the Kota Kemuning Assembly of God church which was completely destroyed in a fire that occurred on Feb 2 at around 11 pm.

He said his ministry was waiting for a forensic and technical report on the fire pertaining to the actual amount of losses and damage suffered by the church, located on the second floor of a shophouse, in order to channel the appropriate allocation.

-- BERNAMA