The Umno disciplinary board must prove its 'independence' by investigating the rampant allegations of 'money politics' in the recently concluded party elections although no official report has been filed.

Umno leaders at the divisional and branch levels said the board, chaired by Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen, can no longer shut its eyes and ears to these allegations.

"Even though there have been no official complaints, the board must carry out investigations for the sake of the good name and future of Umno," said one state-level leader, who declined to be named.

The leader said he was informed that the board does not consider complaints lodged without full details of the complainants as official complaints.

"If that is the way the board acts... then the candidates, in particular the 'sharks' who offered money throughout the party polls, will escape," he added.

He said there will certainly be no one brave enough to come forward to say that he has received cash inducement as that will threaten his own position in the party.

"During the divisional and branch level polls, the sums of money offered were not large... only about RM50 to RM100. So there were those who took the money and then lodged complaints and surrendered the money to the disciplinary board," he added.

Recently, the board announced that aside from suspending the membership or giving warnings to candidates who had been found guilty, it has also collected about RM20,000 which had been surrendered by complainants as proof of money politics.

"This time [during the general assembly], we understand that the sums involved are large... RM1,000 to RM1,500... and some recipients have already spent the money... so how can they prove that money politics happened?" he said.

No transparency

Meanwhile, a divisional level leader expressed his dissatisfaction over disciplinary board's lack of transparency in its investigations.

He said the board has never announced openly the actual wrongdoings committed by the candidates which it had found guilty of breaching the guidelines.

"Each time the chairperson of the board makes an announcement, he only states that 'so-and-so' has been found guilty of breaching the polls guidelines and his membership has been suspended.

"At the same time, he also announced that some other candidates have also been found guilty, but have been let off with a stern warning... to us, that looks like 'double-standards'... some guilty candidates are suspended, some others are only warned," he added.

As such, he said, it is best to make public the form of wrongdoing which had been committed by the guilty candidates, so that Umno members can understand the degree of wrongdoing which is involved.