by ALIFAH ZAINUDDIN & DASHVEENJIT KAUR/ pic by TMR FILE

PARTI Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia may plan to get rid of the party’s chairman role, a position once held by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said supreme council member Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof (picture).

Mohd Redzuan said this is to prevent any future power struggle at the top level within the party, following the political fallout between Dr Mahathir and president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

“He (Dr Mahathir) was supposed to be an advisor but out of respect for the statesman, the party gave him the chairman position.

“However, this has created problems. There must only be one captain in a ship. If we need to amend the party constitution to remove the chairmanship post, we will do it,” he told reporters in the Parliament yesterday.

Dr Mahathir last week announced the formation of an unnamed breakaway political party which would resemble Bersatu.

Several Bersatu division chiefs and committee leaders in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Perlis and Langkawi, Kedah, have since announced their resignation from the party.

Four supreme council members Datuk Abdul Kadir Jasin, Tariq Ismail Mustafa, Abu Bakar Yahya and Ulya Aqamah Husamudin also made their exits.

Mohd Redzuan dismissed claims that the departure of party leaders led to the dissolution of some divisions.

“There is no dissolution of divisions because they are part of the party constitution and were registered with the Registrar of Societies. Those who claim these divisions had been dissolved clearly do not understand the party constitution,” Mohd Redzuan said, adding that new leaders will be appointed.

“At the moment, we are not desperate to replace the leadership at the affected divisions because we are in the middle of our party election. What is more important is to elect those who can work and explain to the grassroots about the current situation so that no one will leave the party,” he said.

Bernama recently reported that 16 Bersatu divisions in Langkawi were dissolved due to the resignation of its deputy’s head Shukor Bahari, along with 22 out of 26 division committee leaders.

The dissolution, Shukor said, will result in the automatic revocation of 4,900 memberships under the Langkawi division.

Earlier, several Bersatu division chiefs in the Klang Valley pledged allegiance to Dr Mahathir’s new party which led to the collapse of Bersatu’s 2,800-member division in Klang.

Bersatu has a total of 189 divisions nationwide.

At the same time, 15 out of 17 committee members of the Kota Raja Bersatu division announced they were quitting the party with immediate effect.

Kota Raja Bersatu division spokesman Shahul Hameed Abdul Wahab said 500 other members under the division are expected to follow suit.

Bangi Bersatu division chief Mohd Sufian Mat Junus also announced his exit from the party over the weekend and claimed that the division had been dissolved.