Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and four other federal lawmakers have been sacked from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) on Thursday (May 28).
In a letter addressed to Dr Mahathir by Bersatu’s executive secretary Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya, the former prime minister was informed that he has been sacked according to clauses 10.2.2 and 10.2.3 of the party’s constitution.
Mr Muhammad Suhaimi said this was because Dr Mahathir had sat with the opposition bloc during the parliamentary sitting on May 18, and not with the Perikatan Nasional coalition led by Bersatu’s president and current Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Other Members of Parliament (MPs), including Mr Mukhriz Mahathir, Mr Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, Mr Amiruddin Hamzah and Dr Maszlee Malik were also sacked from the party.
Supporters of Dr Mahathir – Bersatu’s former chairman – are at odds with those backing Mr Muhyiddin. The split in the party came after Mr Muhyiddin’s decision to team up with Barisan Nasional (BN), and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) to form the new ruling government earlier this year.
Following the establishment of the new coalition, Mr Muhyiddin was sworn in as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister.
Dr Mahathir has earlier proposed a motion of no-confidence against Mr Muhyiddin in parliament, which has been accepted by Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff.
Earlier this month, Dr Mahathir said in a video interview that he had resigned as chairman of Bersatu in February because he opposed the party’s decision to leave the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and join up with BN and PAS to form the new government.
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