KUALA LUMPUR (May 5): Former Minister of International Trade and Industry Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz is amused over news that she has been sacked by Umno's disciplinary board for speaking at opposition Pakatan Harapan's events.

Rafidah, who made her debut appearance on the opposition's stage in Melaka on Friday night amid thunderous applause from the crowd, asked how can Umno sack a person who is no longer a member of its party since about a decade ago.

The former Wanita Umno chief told theedgemarkets.com that she does not want to be a member of an organisation that does not even abide by its own constitution and is "existing without legal foundation and standing". 

Here is her reply in full, sent via WhatsApp, when asked to comment on the issue:

"I read with sheer amusement on the ‘Public Announcement’ that I have been "sacked" by UMNO. What ‘sacking’? I have ceased being a member of UMNO since almost a decade ago. I have never attended any cawangan meeting for years! No one can ‘sack’ a non-member! 

"UMNO is sadly NO LONGER now the ‘United Malays National Organisation’ I was inducted into in the 1960's. The very spirit, culture and embodiment of TODAY'S UMNO has strayed so far off-TANGENT from the original UMNO before this present cohort of so-called leaders. It seems now to be all about PERSONAL LOYALTY, a materialistic culture, often driven by GREED for power and personal enrichment, and NOT about serving the people and nation.

"Humility, Good Manners and Mutual Respect has been replaced by ARROGANCE. UMNO MUST reform and go back to basics if it were to remain relevant in the ever changing environment. UMNO is NOTHING without its original spirit.

"One does NOT have to be a card-carrying member of ANY political party to serve. After almost half a century of being a member, I can NO LONGER identify with the UMNO of today. The VALUE SYSTEM has been eroded. Principles no longer seem to matter. UMNO does NOT even ABIDE by its OWN Constitution and is existing without legal foundation and standing.

"Do I still want to be a member of such an organization, which also seem to condone Kleptocracy? NO WAY."

Rafidah then went on to share a video of Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak that was taken in 2015, when he announced that the party's supreme council has decided to postpone the party's election that was due to be held in October 2016, by 18 months. In the video, Najib also said the postponement could not be more than 18 months from the original due date, according to the party's constitution.

It was reported earlier today that Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor confirmed that he had signed letters to expel Rafidah, together with former Finance MinisterTun Daim Zainuddin, for their outright support of Pakatan Rakyat, while another former minister Tan Sri Rais Yatim has been placed under investigation for disciplinary issues .

"I was at the Umno headquarters yesterday (May 4) and signed the letters to withdraw their membership," he was quoted as saying. 

"According to the party's constitution, they as Umno veterans should know their actions were wrong when they give ceramah on the opposition's stage," Tengku Adnan reportedly told reporters in Putrajaya.

Daim, meanwhile, has expressed relief that he was sacked from Umno, saying he had no business being in an "illegal society".