Haniff, who is the lawyer for former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) government would lose its credibility as a democratic government if its anchor party, Umno, itself did not uphold democratic principles and the law.
He pointed out that under the law for establishment of societies, the party’s constitution superseded whatever decision made by its members at their annual general assembly or any resolution of the Umno supreme council.
“The constitution of Umno is the supreme law that governs the party and its members, apart from the Societies Act 1966,” he said.
Haniff said the Umno constitution allowed any member to contest any post provided he fulfilled the conditions to be a candidate, including receiving enough nominations from the divisions — 30% of the divisions for the president’s post and 20% for the deputy president’s post.
He said the Umno constitution upheld the concept of democracy, by allowing and encouraging members to contest for posts for which they were qualified.
“However, how can Umno and its members boast about the party’s democratic principles with the approval of such a resolution?
“Is it Umno’s objective to deter some members who question the credibility of the president or deputy president?” he asked.
Whatever the intention, he said the resolution would not be able to bar party members who wanted to contest the top two posts, or any divisions from nominating them.
However, he added, the members and divisions who went against the resolution might have to face disciplinary action by the party.