GRS’s constitution does allow for direct membership
Published on: Thursday, December 15, 2022
By:
FMT, Tracy Bul
Article 6 of GRS’ constitution states that there are two types of membership – direct and organisational.
Kota Kinabalu: Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s (GRS) constitution allows for direct membership, a check on its website shows.
This follows claims that four Sabah MPs who won their seats at last month’s general election are direct members of GRS, and did not run afoul of the anti-hopping law by leaving Sabah Bersatu.
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There had been doubts over the status of the four after Sabah Bersatu leaders said last week that they were leaving the party en masse. Rival politicians said their resignation from the party meant they would have to vacate their seats following the newly enforced anti-hopping law.
The MPs are Armizan Ali (Papar), Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Matbali Musah (Sipitang) and Jonathan Yasin (Ranau).
Armizan said he had signed up for GRS’ direct membership before nominations for GE15, and had won the Papar seat on a GRS ticket.
Bernama had reported that Armizan, who is the minister for Sabah and Sarawak affairs, was one of the individuals involved in the drafting of GRS’ constitution.
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FMT has obtained a copy of the constitution, in which Article 2 states that GRS is an organisation that is both an individual and coalition of political parties and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Article 6 states that the party accepts two types of memberships – direct and organisational.
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Armizan did not say whether the three other MPs had also become GRS members before the elections.
Meanwhile, a source told FMT that all six of GRS’ GE15 candidates from Bersatu Sabah had joined the coalition before nomination day.
The other two are Nixon Abdul Habi and Rudy Awah, who failed to win the Semporna and Kudat seats, respectively. On Tuesday, Nixon told Malaysiakini that he was a GRS member “well before the general election”.
It was also previously reported that the resignation of Bersatu members would have to be formally accepted by Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin before their exit is official.
Article 10.1 of the party’s constitution states that members who wish to leave the party have to inform the secretary-general in writing.
However, Article 10.2.2 states that an individual’s membership is automatically cancelled if a member announces their departure from the party, with Article 10.2.3 stating that a membership is also automatically cancelled if a member joins another party.
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