UMNO elections postponement to improve internal affairs - Hishammuddin

UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the decision for the party elections to be postponed were crucial to improve internal affairs, strengthen the party and give priority to serving the people.

“This is good,” he said … “as the decision was made for all quarters to realise that the power to postpone the party elections lies in the hands of the party’s Supreme Council.”

It was crucial, said Hishammuddin, who is also chairman of the party constitution and legal bureau that UMNO provides the justification at grassroots level.

On behalf of the bureau which I’m heading, we accept the decision with open arms as we need more time to collect the feedback on the postponement in order to improve the Constitution,” the Sembrong MP spoke to media personnel after chairing a meeting of the bureau, here today.

He said the feedback on the postponement of the elections was obtained when the bureau held state-level briefings early this year.

Hishammuddin said the postponement gave the bureau time to work on refining some of the clauses in the party constitution as per the request of the grassroots.

The grassroots had pointed out that four key matters had to be rectified, which were securing replies to resolutions raised by delegates; streamlining the party elections committee and strengthening the SOP for party elections; streamlining online registration of members and empowering state liaison committees, he said.

He said, four coordinators would be appointed to address these matters, and the feedback gathered by the bureau would be brought to the supreme council.

The decision of the postponement was at the request of the grassroots who had wanted the party elections to be deferred till after the 14th general election due in 2018. UMNO last held its triennial elections in October 2013.

The UMNO Supreme Council last Friday decided to postpone the party elections by 18 months.