KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has urged component parties to formally state their support for amending the coalition’s constitution to allow new parties to join as core members.
Zahid, who is also Umno president, said the main obstacle lies in BN’s constitution, which requires unanimous consent from all component parties before admitting any new member.
He said that if the parties do not oppose the entry of the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma), currently a “Friends of BN” member, this must be formally reflected in an official decision at a BN meeting.
“If it is true that they have no objections, then I want proof at the next BN Supreme Council meeting through an official statement to accept and amend the BN constitution.
“I do not want to hear one position taken in media statements and speeches, and another in meetings,” he said, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to remarks made recently by a leader from MIC.
He said this when officiating Kimma’s 2025 general assembly at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur today.
In January, MIC deputy president M Saravanan called for BN-friendly parties to become full members after the People’s Progressive Party was readmitted into BN, having left the coalition in 2018.
In his speech, Zahid also assured Kimma’s leadership that efforts to secure the party’s admission as a full BN member would be pursued at the highest level of the coalition.
“Rest assured, I will ensure that such a resolution is not only proposed but also formally endorsed at the BN Supreme Council meeting. I will propose Kimma’s admission as a full BN member,” he said.
