Taki rebuts Azmin on PAS' role in PN deregistration, cites Bersatu's internal disputes

Perikatan Nasional secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan has rejected Bersatu’s claim that PAS was responsible for the coalition’s deregistration, saying Bersatu was excluded from a PN supreme council meeting on July 16 because of unresolved internal disputes.

Responding to Bersatu secretary-general Azmin Ali, Takiyuddin said PN had followed its established practice of temporarily excluding component parties with unresolved internal disputes from coalition meetings.

He cited the case of MIPP in January, when the party was asked to settle disputes over its leadership before being readmitted to PN meetings.

"Pending the resolution of those issues, PN did not call or invite MIPP to attend its meetings.

"But MIPP was quite remarkable. It did not lodge a complaint with the Registrar of Societies (ROS)," he told a press conference in Parliament today.

Azmin had accused the PAS-led PN leadership of breaching the coalition’s constitution by denying Bersatu the right to attend, speak, and vote at the PN meeting.

Quorum concerns

Takiyuddin said four Bersatu MPs - from Sabak Bernam, Sungai Besar, Kangar, and Kulim-Bandar Baharu - had lodged a complaint with the ROS on July 13 over the quorum of Bersatu’s supreme council meeting.

He stressed that the four remained Bersatu members and were not aligned with the Wawasan Negara faction.

Takiyuddin said he had written to Azmin to inform him of the complaint and seek clarification.

“PN was concerned that if Bersatu, which was facing unresolved internal problems, participated in a PN meeting, any decisions made during that meeting might be invalid.

“Therefore, we gave Bersatu an opportunity either to explain the actual circumstances to us or to obtain clarification from the ROS regarding the complaint,” he said.

He maintained that Azmin had received the letter via WhatsApp, pointing to the blue ticks showing it had been read.

“I have the records on my mobile phone because I sent the letter through WhatsApp.

“To this day, Bersatu has not provided any explanation,” he added.

Separate logo decision

Takiyuddin also cited Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin’s July 15 announcement that the party would contest the Negeri Sembilan state election under its own hibiscus logo rather than PN’s.

He said this gave PN a second reason to exclude Bersatu, as the July 16 meeting had been convened specifically to decide on the coalition’s election logo and candidates.

“Since Bersatu wanted to contest independently, then go ahead. Contest all 36 seats if you want, using the Bersatu logo. There was no need for us to invite them.

“If we had invited Bersatu, its secretary-general could have said, ‘Why are you inviting us? We want to use our own logo.’

“That would not make sense,” he said.

Takiyuddin insisted that both reasons had been submitted to the ROS with documentary evidence, but said the registrar had found PN’s explanation unsatisfactory.

“Unfortunately for PN, our comprehensive explanation, supported by documentary evidence, was still deemed unsatisfactory by the ROS,” he said.

Earlier today, Azmin accused PAS and its allies of failing to uphold democratic principles and good governance within PN, arguing that Bersatu’s exclusion from the July 16 meeting had led to the coalition’s deregistration.

He also claimed the ROS decision vindicated Bersatu’s objections to the meeting and urged PAS to accept responsibility rather than portray itself as a political victim ahead of the Malacca state election.

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