Thousands of disgruntled Jelutong Umno division members in Penang have threatened to leave the party if the leadership fails to revive the division’s 17 dissolved branches within a week from today.

umno jelutong penang 150708 syed hussien The group’s spokesperson Syed Hussien Syed Mohamed hinted that the members might resign from Umno and join the Pakatan Rakyat coalition if their grievances are not addressed immediately.

"It’s up to us whether we want to join PKR or PAS or even retire from politics for good," said Syed Hussein who was the acting head of one of the dissolved branches - Jalan P Ramlee branch.

"For now, the discontented members want the party supreme council within the next seven days to revise its decision to dissolve the branches," he added at a press conference.

The group of dissolved branch leaders from the troubled division also expressed their loss of faith in the current party leadership at both the federal and state levels.

They claimed to have been ‘played out’ by the state Umno liaison committee and accused party leaders of nurturing and resorting to gangsterism to exert their authority and political agenda.

They also threatened to take legal action against the federal ruling party for "violating its own constitution and abusing its power in dissolving the branches."

'Legitimate decision'

In an immediate response, state Umno secretary Azhar Ibrahim likened the walkout and legal threat to "holding the party to ransom to reverse a legitimate decision."

He stressed that Umno would not be cowed by such an ultimatum.

umno jelutong penang 150708 02 Azhar also dismissed the ‘gangsterism’ claim, saying: "Never in the history of Umno, have leaders resorted to such high-handed tactics to exert their authority or intimidate its own grassroots leaders and members."

"This is a slanderous lie and absolute contempt of the party leadership," he said, warning that members who brought internal matters to the courts could face the sack.

Acting on the findings of an investigation carried out by the party management and recommendations made by the state liaison committees, the Umno supreme council decided at its meeting on July 10 to dissolve the17 branches and approve 25 existing branches in the Jelutong division, much to the dismay of 2, 999 affected members.

The 24-member Penang Umno liaison committee, chaired by Umno president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, unanimously agreed during its monthly meeting on July 5 to the dissolution after perusing the findings of the management committee.

The dissolved branches were Jalan P Ramlee, Jalan Kampar, Taman Hijau, Jelutong Pantai, Jelutong Barat, Jalan Sungai, Medan Tengku, Kampong Che Ros, Taman Cemerlang, Taman Nusantara, Batu Lanchang, Pengkalan Haji Kassim, Pesisiran Sungai, Taman Indah, Kampong Paya, Persiaran Perak and Taman Perak.

Azhar cited massive irregularities in membership, accounts auditing and asset management as main reasons behind the dissolution of the branches, reasons brushed aside by the disgruntled members.

"The dissolution was unconstitutional, one-sided and uncalled for," said Syed Hussein.

"The Umno leadership has never interviewed us and considered our views before deciding to dissolve our branches," he added.

Use proper channels

Meanwhile, Azhar said it was not the end of the road for the affected members as their membership was still valid despite the dissolution of their branches.

umno jelutong penang 150708 azhar He said they can use the proper channels to air their grievances and revive their branches, failing which they can transfer their membership to existing branches in the division or others.

"It’s not the end of Umno for them," he said, adding that the party however would not stop any members from walking out or joining other parties.

Some affected members have argued that their entry into other branches depends on the respective branch leadership. This is something they believe "would never happen."

Umno Jelutong has been besieged by controversies and problems for more than 10 years due to money politics, factionalism and intense power struggle.

As a result of this, the state liaison, under the supreme council’s directive, took direct control of the 42-branch division in 2005 until it formed a pro-tem committee headed by Abdul Razak Abdul Rahman mid-last year.

The division is set to hold its long annual general meeting this August.