The Umno president said Saifuddin had acted well within the provisions of the Act, which states that the Registrar of Societies (ROS) has the power to validate the party’s resolution.

“The resolution was accepted by over 95% of the delegates at Umno’s general assembly, but we still took note of the complaints by the two Umno members,” he said at a press conference at the Dewan Rakyat.

Asked on former Umno members who questioned the validity of the home minister’s decision, Zahid said they were only expressing their personal opinions.

“I think that’s their own personal opinions. The Societies Act 1966 is a legislation passed by Parliament, so if they’re not happy with the decision, they can go to court,” he said.

Earlier, FMT reported that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim defended Saifuddin’s decision to grant Umno an exemption over the no-contest motion for the top two posts, saying that he (Saifuddin) already explained the matter.

On Tuesday, Saifuddin confirmed Umno was granted an exemption pursuant to Section 70 of the Act.

Under Section 70, the minister is empowered to use his discretion to exempt any registered society from all or any of the provisions of the Act.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan and former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin have criticised Saifuddin’s decision to grant the party an exemption.

Khairy, who was sacked by Umno in January, accused Saifuddin of using executive powers to absolve an unlawful act.