JOHOR Bersatu will leave it to the party leadership to deal with Osman Sapian after the surfacing of a video, which went viral, showing the former menteri besar allegedly campaigning for an independent candidate in the Slim by-election.

Its chairman, Mazlan Bujang, said those at the state liaison level have no authority to take action against members who flout party rules.

“Let (Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin), through the committee (disciplinary board) make its decision.

“Disciplinary matters come under the party’s disciplinary board, so we at the state level do not have any comments to make regarding this matter. Everything depends on the management to take action. If the video recording is authentic, (the disciplinary board) will investigate. Then, it’s up to Muhyiddin and he can order for it to be checked or investigated,” said Mazlan.

Mazlan, who is also Johor education, information, heritage and culture committee chairman, said this at the closing ceremony of the 2020 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Merdeka Convoy in Johor Baru today.

The video, which went viral yesterday, purportedly shows Osman, who is also the Ayer Hitam Bersatu division head, speaking at a campaign stop in support of independent candidate Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi.

In the video, Osman is said to have admitted to being the Kempas state assemblyman on the Bersatu ticket and that he is still a member of the party, but claims Bersatu has strayed from its original struggles.    

Previously, Osman had said that his presence in Slim, Perak, was to meet old friends while on holiday, and had nothing to do with politics.

Mazlan, meanwhile, has urged all parties not to be quick to jump to conclusions, especially regarding internal party matters.

“We shall follow the accurate source. If it’s true that there has been misconduct, then we need to give (the person) a chance to explain. We must be mature when dealing with this situation,” he said. – Bernama, August 30, 2020.