PETALING JAYA: The Registrar of Societies (ROS) did not inform Umno that its supreme council could only act as a “caretaker” confined to administrative work, says party secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

       He said his one-hour meeting with ROS on Monday (Aug 9) did not touch on the subject.

       Ahmad said according to ROS it would instead study Umno's letter of explanation which submitted new information.

       “No decision has been made following the meeting on Monday. It wasn’t discussed (caretaker issue),” he told Sinar Harian.

       On Tuesday (Aug 10), ROS director-general Jasri Karim said the supreme council led by Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi can only carry out administrative matters before the party polls.

       “At this time, it is only like a caretaker; it can only do administrative work or normal party management.

       "In terms of implementation, (or all) policy decisions, they must be brought to the general assembly first because of this caretaker status," he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia.

       Jasri also noted that RoS already received the party's explanation letter regarding the 18-month delay in its elections, and had stated that it was invalid because the term of the supreme council officer bearers for 2018-2021 had ended on June 30.

       The ROS had also said it found "irregularities" in the postponement.

       He said the ROS will look into the explanations it received as the party had submitted new information.

       On Monday (Aug 9), Ahmad Zahid had questioned the motive behind the recent announcement by RoS, which asked Umno to submit a fresh application to defer its elections and provide fixed dates.

       “We are concerned that this latest development is just a desperate move by the Perikatan Nasional government to pressure Umno,” said Ahmad Zahid.

       Ahmad Zahid said Umno would not accept RoS’ demands for the party to hold its elections this year.