KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Election Committee has declared the meetings of Bersatu branches in the Kuala Terengganu and Teluk Intan divisions null and void following protests from party members.

As such, the Election Committee chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said the meetings of the branches in the two divisions must be reconvened at any time before March 29.

"The meetings of these branches must be supervised by the committee with the cooperation from the sub-committee at the state level. This is because the committee had found that most of the protests were related to the branches’ failure to adhere to the meeting regulations set by the party.

"At the same time, party members are also reminded not to issue any statement on the meetings as the final decision can only be made by the committee. This is to avoid confusion and conflict among each other,” he said in a statement here today.

Syed Hamid said a total of 363,173 registered party members are qualified to attend the meetings and elect their leaders’ line-up at 2,950 branches in 189 divisions nationwide this year.

So far, 538 branches in 37 divisions had held their meetings. — Bernama