PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today says he is still Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman and that the party's organising secretary had exceeded his power in attempting to sack him.
The former prime minister said he has reached a decision to sack the organising secretary, Capt (Rtd) Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya from his post instead.
"The organising secretary has no power to sack a chairman. His duty usually involves arranging tables for a meeting and his position is not even mentioned in Bersatu's constitution.
"I was shocked yesterday when I learned that I was sacked by the organising secretary and that's when I realised that the power of an organising secretary exceeds the chairman," he said in jest during a press conference held at the Bersatu headquarters here today.
Yesterday, Dr Mahathir, a Langkawi MP and four other Bersatu Members of Parliament (MPs) had their party membership automatically nullified for sitting in the opposition bloc during the Dewan Rakyat's one-day meeting on May 18.
The other four leaders are Jerlun MP Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, Dr Maszlee Malik (Simpang Renggam), Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah (Kubang Pasu) and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar).