BERSATU president Muhyiddin Yassin has applied to strike out a suit by Dr Mahathir Mohamad and five others, who are seeking remedial action at the Kuala Lumpur High Court regarding the loss of their party membership. 

The prime minister, along with Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin, former Bersatu organising secretary Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya and director-general of the Registry of Societies Masyati Abang Ibrahim, filed their court papers yesterday, said their lawyer Rosli Dahlan.

Dr Mahathir, who wants to be recognised as the sitting chairman, filed his suit on behalf of Bersatu, which was listed as the first of seven plaintiffs in the suit. 

Rosli said Dr Mahathir has no authority to act on behalf of the party. 

“You cannot have the organisation as a plaintiff. It has to be a defendant. You are accusing the organisation of wrongdoing,” Rosli told reporters after meeting in chambers with justice Rohani Ismail and Dr Mahathir’s lawyers today. 

Rosli said Muhyiddin is also seeking to dismiss the suit on other technical grounds, such as the violation of a party rule that no dispute can be brought to court by party members.

“By filing this action, they have triggered Clause 10.2.6, which says that any member that files an application immediately loses his membership. 

“Beyond that, they have declared their exit from the party. In Tun’s case, he tendered his resignation. And on May 18, he sat with the opposition. There’s a longstanding convention that if you cross the floor that is a declaration that you have abandoned the party.

“The suit is frivolous, vexatious, scandalous and an abuse of the court process.”

Dr Mahathir resigned as chairman on February 24, the same day he stepped down as prime minister, but his resignation as chairman became disputed within Bersatu as rival factions battled for legitimacy.

He was unopposed in nominations for the chairman’s post in party elections, which have been postponed to after June due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The RoS had backed Muhyiddin’s assertion that Dr Mahathir had given up the party post in February, a claim Dr Mahathir disputes on the basis that his resignation had been rejected by the supreme council.

“You resigned and say I am not with the opposition,” Rosli said. 

“But you’ve seen yesterday that PH (Pakatan Harapan) is struggling to decide who will be the prime minister. Is it Anwar (Ibrahim) or is it Mahathir?

“Are you with us Bersatu, or are you not with us, as in being with PH? I think you need to take a clear stand on that,” he said. 

“Clearly they don’t have the party behind them. The party is with the prime minister now,” Rosli added. 

Justice Rohani also met in chambers with lawyers representing Dr Mahathir and the others. Lead counsel Haniff Khatri Abdulla filed an injunction application to prevent, among others, the party constitution from being amended until the disposal of the main suit.

Rohani fixed July 9 to hear the bids, including the strike out application. 

The Bersatu six are suing Bersatu and the RoS over their loss of membership from the party.

In their statement of claim, filed on June 9, they accused Bersatu president Muhyiddin and Hamzah of conspiring with the RoS to seize power in the party.

The five other former party leaders taking the case to court are former deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir, former youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, former supreme council members Maszlee Malik, Amiruddin Hamzah and former secretary-general Marzuki Yahya.

They want the court to declare the legitimacy of their party membership and positions. They also want the court to revoke the membership of Muhyiddin as well as Bersatu members who are in the cabinet or are heads of government-linked companies or both.

The six bringing the suit were sacked from the party on June 4 for sitting with the opposition bloc at the parliamentary meeting on May 18. – June 18, 2020.