Kota Kinabalu: Usno President Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia suspended six party members with immediate effect on Tuesday and stripped six others of their positions in the party’s Supreme Executive Council.
“The suspensions are intended as damage control to stop the members from further destabilising Usno,” he told a media conference here. He said a disciplinary committee would be formally constituted on Wednesday (May 6) to investigate and call the suspended members to give their explanations.
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He said the action was taken under Clause 49.10 of the party constitution, which grants the President authority to suspend members deemed to be affecting party stability.
“I am using this power for damage control to stop them from destroying Usno any further,” he said, pointing out that under the Clause, the President can suspend the membership of a member with immediate effect in the interest of the party pending action by the Central Disciplinary Board.
The six members whose membership has been suspended are Deputy President Datuk Ibrahim Linggam, Vice Presidents Ahmad Kanajaan and Hussin Ibnu Hassan, as well as Supreme Executive Council (AMET) members Mohammad Hafeiz Hussin, Sazali Justi and Sallehudin Kasau.
Pandikar said he had chosen not to invoke the Clause earlier, even when he had evidence of the members holding a secret meeting the night before a Supreme Council sitting on April 22, but said his patience ran out after they continued attacking him on social media and allegedly used promises of government positions to poach party members.
“I did not take action at that time, even though I had evidence. But I could no longer be patient …why attack me, and then go around collecting support like picking groundnuts,” he said.
He also accused Ibrahim of using the Chief Minister’s name to influence Supreme Council members, claiming that those who backed him (Ibrahim) would be given government positions.
“I contacted the Chief Minister through WhatsApp directly upon learning of this and received a reply from the Chief Minister, who said he was not involved and that he did not interfere in Usno’s internal affairs,” he said.
Pandikar further criticised Ibrahim and his (Ibrahim) supporters for failing to attend not one but two party meetings, the Supreme Council sitting on April 22 and a subsequent general meeting, where they could have formally raised objections or called for a vote, yet chose instead to make public statements attacking his leadership.
“They had the opportunity to use the proper channels. They could have attended the meeting. They could have used Clause 19 to request a sitting. They chose instead to attack me on social media. Why?” he said.
The six stripped of their AMET positions are Datu Abdul Lalih Abah, Dr Masjidin Datu Moksan, Dayang Norasiken Nonoi, Jamri Sabu, Rusulan Rahaban and Datuk Edmund J. Doudilim.
Pandikar cited Clause 52.1 of the party constitution, which grants the appointing authority the power to also remove those it has appointed.
