KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 (Bernama) -- Any disciplinary action taken against Umno members found to have sabotaged the party in the March 8 general election must be fair and based on facts and not hearsay, said Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said the party needed to gather evidence from the division concerned before the case was brought to the Umno Disciplinary Board for investigation to prove the allegations.
Muhyiddin, who also heads the party's Constitution and Regulations Committee, said if proven right, the individual involved would be given the opportunity to show cause before a decision was made.
"If there is proof of sabotage against the party, action must be taken as the individual's action had contributed to Umno's loss," he told reporters after launching Malaysia Productivity Corporation at a hotel in Subang Jaya, near here, Monday.
Muhyiddin's comments came after the statement by Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday that he wanted disciplinary action to be taken against party members who sabotaged the Barisan Nasional (BN) in 14 parliamentary and 22 state constituencies in the recent elections.
"We need to be careful so that the actions we will take are fair and wise," he said in referrence to the disciplinary actions that could be taken, including dismissal from the party.
Muhyiddin, who is International Trade and Industry Minister, said the process of taking statements against the alleged party must also be fairly and meticulously conducted and in accordance with the party constitution and rules.
Asked on what entailed an act of sabotage, he said the matter was still being studied but did not dismiss that it could be linked to dissatisfaction over the choice of candidates in certain constituencies.
"Does sabotage mean refusing to campaign for the chosen party candidates? It can also mean campaigning for the opposition. We need to look at the factors."
"Although unhappy with the choice of candidates, the party members should have just accepted the top leaders' decisions. This is because the party is more important than the candidates," he said.
-- BERNAMA
