UMNO is an illegal organisation and cannot sack anyone, said former Umno minister Daim Zainuddin, who has switched sides to campaign for the opposition in GE14.

He told Malaysia Decides the Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor should be held responsible for the current state of affairs, which had called into question the validity of the party.

“Tengku Adnan as the secretary-general is responsible for the chaos that is happening in Umno today,” Daim said in an immediate reaction to news he had been booted by Umno  for supporting Pakatan Harapan.

Umno also sacked Rafidah Aziz and Rais Yatim, both ministers in Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration.

All three have been critical of Umno and Barisan Nasional, with Daim and Rafidah going a step further to openly campaign for PH at ceramah.

Sixteen party members recently challenged Umno’s legal status in court, on grounds the party elections had been delayed beyond the timeframe allowed in the party constitution.

The 16 members were sacked after their application for a judicial review was dismissed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court last month.

Tengku Adnan today announced the sacking of Daim, Rafidah and Rais, during a visit to the Putrajaya police headquarters where uniformed personnel were casting their votes early.

“Going by the party constitution they know campaigning for the opposition is wrong,” he said, adding that he had signed off on the termination of their party membership last night.

The announcement came a day after Daim and Rafidah shared a stage at a ceramah in Malacca, where they lent support to PH chairman and prime minister designate Dr Mahathir. – May 5, 2018.