Umno sues ex-members

Umno intends to sue the remaining 14 of its former lawmakers who have defected from the party after the 14th General Election following the filing of a suit against three Bersatu MPs.

The party – together with its coalition Barisan Nasional – have filed a suit against Jeli MP Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and Tanah Merah lawmaker Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz.

The three are being sued for breach of trust, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and legitimate expectations.

The summons were filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court and Kota Baru High Court on Tuesday.

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The plaintiffs in the suit are Umno executive secretary Datuk Sumali Reduan and former Barisan executive secretary Datuk Seri Abu Khamis.

Lawyer Tan Sri Apandi Ali, who is representing Umno and Barisan, confirmed that the suits had been filed against the three former Umno lawmakers.

“Yes, the action brought by the plaintiffs was for breach of

contract, unjust enrichment, legitimate expectations and breach of trust.

“Umno and Barisan will also be filing suits against other lawmakers who have left the party, ” he told The Star here yesterday.

It is understood that the three have yet to be served with the documents but this is expected to be carried out soon.

After Barisan’s loss in the general election last year, 13 Umno lawmakers left the party for Bersatu.

Aside from Mustapa, Hamzah and Ikmal Hisham, other MPs who also defected to Bersatu are Datuk Dr Abdul Latif Ahmad (Mersing), Datuk Shabudin Yahya (Tasek Gelugor), Datuk Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (Sabak Bernam), Datuk Rosol Wahid (Hulu Terengganu), Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Masjid Tanah) and Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali (Bagan Serai).

Four lawmakers from Sabah Umno have also left the party to join Bersatu – Datuk Ronald Kiandee (Beluran), Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri (Kudat), Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun (Beaufort) and Datuk Zakaria Mohd Edris (Libaran).

With the 13 joining the Bersatu fold, the party’s number of representatives in Dewan Rakyat has doubled from the 13 seats it won in GE14.

Three lawmakers – Datuk Seri Anifah Aman (Kimanis), Yamani Hafez Musa (Sipitang) and Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Syed Abdul

Faisal (Bukit Gantang) – have left Umno to become Independent MPs while Labuan MP Datuk Rozman Isli who won under Barisan ticket is now a lawmaker for Parti Warisan Sabah.

Umno is now left with 37 MPs after having secured 54 parliamentary seats in the May 9 polls.

In November last year, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was reported saying that the party filed a writ of summons against MPs who defected from the party with the intention to claim back money from them.

The Star