KOTA BARU: Gua Musang member of parliament Mohd Azizi Abu Naim said he and the other Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) elected representatives have accepted the party's decision to revoke their memberships.
Mohd Azizi said they did not receive any notice from the party until now.
He said the last notice that we received was on May 17 asking them to declare their stance.
"Until to date, we did not get any letters from the party informing us that our memberships have been revoked.
"Although we did not get the letter, we have accepted the decision with an open heart," said Mohd Azizi, who is the spokesman for the group.
Mohd Azizi told TV3's Buletin Utama yesterday that the seven Bersatu elected representatives, who declared their support for the unity government, have raised questions on the legitimacy of the notice sent to them by the party to declare their stance.
Speaking on behalf of the group, he said this was the reason he did not respond to the notice before its deadline on May 31.
He said that the group wrote a letter to Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin seeking explanation on the legitimacy of the notice.
It was reported yesterday that the memberships of the seven Bersatu elected representatives have automatically ceased.
This, according to Bersatu vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee, is because the six MPs and one assemblyman failed to adhere to the party's directive.
Mohd Azizi was among the seven Bersatu-elected representatives, who declared their support to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's leadership.
He is also among the two MPs from Kelantan who declared their support to the Prime Minister. The other was Jeli MP Zahari Kechik.
Meanwhile, Zahari refused to comment on the latest decision made by Bersatu's leadership.
"Sorry... l am not ready to give my comment on this issue," he said briefly to NST.
Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently said 25 MPs and 58 state assemblymen from Bersatu had already signed letters affirming their allegiance to the party.
There are 31 Bersatu MPs and 60 assemblymen. This means the only ones who failed to adhere to the special directive of the supreme council letters were the six MPs who had previously declared support for Anwar.
The six MPs are Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang); Zahari (Jeli); Mohd Azizi (Gua Musang); Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan) and Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanafi (Tanjong Karang).
One assemblyman who has declared support for Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amiruddin Shaari is Selat Klang's Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari.