KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — Allegations that Umno violated its constitution and was illegal are bald attempts to discredit the Malay nationalist party ahead of the general election, said the party’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor.

In a statement released today, Tengku Adnan or Ku Nan said the claims were made by rivals who must resort to such trickery as they could not otherwise win popular support.

"Despite clarifications and several statements issued, it appears they deliberately want to confuse people so that Umno will be rejected, and that Barisan Nasional and its leaders will have a bad name for the upcoming general election,” he said.

"They are increasingly desperate because the date for the election is very close. They failed to compete with Umno’s ability and BN’s excellence in putting the people first.”

Sixteen Umno members filed for judicial review this week to have the party deregistered for again postponing its internal elections. All were sacked today.

Ku Nan repeated today that Umno’s postponement of its party election received the sanction of the Registrar of Societies.

He noted, however, that detractors continue to insist that the postponement rendered the party invalid.

"Although several explanations have been given on the basis of facts and authentic evidence with confirmation from the Registrar of Societies, it has been rejected,” he said.

"They have attempted to bring Umno and BN down in many ways.”