BERSATU’S virtual annual general assembly is set to take place on Saturday with the main agenda to make changes to the party’s voting system and remove the chairman’s post, according to sources.

The third general assembly will be the first annual meeting after splitting ways with Pakatan Harapan and several of the founding members, including founding chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“It was supposed to be done in September in normal circumstances but due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases and travelling restrictions between states, we are doing it online by video,” the source told The Malaysian Insight.

Among the topics of discussions are amendments to the party’s constitution, including cancelling the one-member-one vote system, which was tabled in the last extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in 2019.

“This AGM seeks to amend the party’s constitution. We are also going to streamline the election system,” another source added.

The one-member-one-vote system was proposed in the last assembly by then youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and various factions had opposed it.

Despite getting the approval of the majority, then party chairman Dr Mahathir said it was only applicable at division and state levels but not the national leadership.

The Malaysian Insight understands Bersatu wants to revert to the nomination system, as practised by parties like Umno and PKR.

The assembly also seeks to remove the chairman’s post from the organisational structure to make the president the highest figure in the party.

“We also want to abolish the chairman post after Tun left the party,” the source said, referring to Dr Mahathir’s title.

Following Dr Mahathir’s departure from the party with a handful of leaders, party president Muhyiddin Yassin assumed the chairman’s position in an acting capacity.

The party will also be discussing amending the constitution to allow associate members and giving them a bigger say. This is to allow newer members, including non-Malays, to join the party.

The virtual AGM will also see all the party’s wings, including the youth and women, holding their meetings simultaneously on Saturday morning before making way for the main assembly in the afternoon.

Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin had a fallout when the former did not consent to Bersatu breaking away from PH, which led to the government’s collapse in February after just 22 months.

Muhyiddin went on to form the Perikatan Nasional government with Umno, PAS, GPS and other BN parties.

In May, Dr Mahathir and four others, including his son Mukhriz Mahathir, Syed Saddiq and others, lost the Bersatu membership for supporting the opposition.

Dr Mahathir later formed Pejuang, a party to mirror Bersatu in fighting corruption and those who work with kleptocrats.

However, Pejuang remains an unregistered entity despite submissions to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) in August. – November 25, 2020.