Gobind: 4 years late, now 4 days late, still no RoS letter

DAP's national legal bureau chairman laments delays that will prejudice the party as the general election is not far off.

PETALING JAYA: There is still no official notification from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) over the order for DAP to hold fresh elections for its Central Executive Committee (CEC), says Gobind Singh Deo.

The DAP national legal bureau chairman posted a message on his Facebook wall this morning stating that as at 10am, nothing has been forthcoming from RoS.

“They issued a media statement on Friday evening and the public debate on its contents have raged on over the weekend until now.

“In the meanwhile, BN propagandists have attacked the DAP saying we are delaying things and that we should just get on with the re-election.

“It is ROS which is delaying things, not us. How do we move ahead without official notification from RoS? So, where is the letter?” Gobind said, chiding the RoS as well for their four-year delay in even making a decision on the matter.

“Will it take them another four years to send us the letter?”

Gobind, who is also Puchong MP, said any delay will prejudice DAP as the general election could be called at anytime.

“We are at the eve of a general election and time is of the essence. It seems as if the RoS intends to force us into holding a fresh re-election as delays will leave us with little choice in terms of legal redress.

“This is clearly evidence of bad faith on the part of the RoS. The RoS is being unprofessional and irresponsible in the discharge of its duties,” he said.

Last Saturday, following the RoS media statement released on Thursday, DAP held a press conference announcing that it will not hold a fresh election, but will seek a meeting with the RoS.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng pointed out that the party had already conducted a re-election in 2013 as directed by the RoS.

Lim added that the party had also informed the RoS of the re-election results, which involved 2,576 qualified delegates.

“Therefore, the question of a fresh election does not arise,” he said, adding that they were still keen to meet with the RoS, to discuss the issue at hand and the latest decision which came three years after what was thought to be and end to the matter.

The dispute over DAP’s last party elections started more than four years ago, some three weeks before the 13th general election (GE13), which was held on May 5, 2013.

On April 17, 2013, the RoS had sent a letter to Lim, stating that it did not recognise DAP’s CEC which had been elected during the party elections the year before.

Then-RoS director-general Abdul Rahman Othman said the non-recognition was due to the alleged dispute surrounding the party polls, and warned that DAP faced the risk of being de-registered.

However, the RoS issued another letter on April 19 stating that the party would be allowed to use its rocket symbol in GE13.

A re-election of the CEC was eventually carried out by DAP on Sept 29, 2013, but that too ran into problems, with the RoS still refusing to recognise the CEC.

On Jan 22, 2014, Lim filed a judicial review application on behalf of the party, saying the RoS had no power under the Societies Act 1966 to refuse the recognition of the CEC which was re-elected on Sept 29, 2013.

DAP decided to drop the application on Sept 23, 2014, following the RoS’ recognition of the re-elected CEC and its stand that statements on the matter were merely advice and not legally binding. - FMT