Gobind Singh tells Malaysians a big lie

“Not only is Gobind aware of this, he also knows that Zahid reserves the right to declare the party illegal, and yet, chose to assist the DAP by taking all precautions necessary to ensure the RoS acted professionally”

THE THIRD FORCE

KUALA LUMPUR: Gobind Singh Deo today issued a rebuke to Dato’ Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

According to him, Zahid’s intervention in the party’s affairs was not necessary, as the question of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) conducting a re-election was strictly between the party and the Registrar of Societies (RoS).

The problem is, Gobind’s rebuke was not legally grounded.

The party’s national legal bureau chairman failed to consider Section 67 of the Societies Act 1966, which stipulates, among others, that “the Minister may make regulations prescribing information to be furnished to the registrar.”

The DAP failed misreably in this department by refusing to furnish the RoS with comprehensive minutes of its 2013 CEC re-election, granting Zahid the authority to intervene to see to it that the aforementioned provision is not violated.

Then, there is the question of public interest.

Zahid, who is responsible for the proper administration of the Act, has a moral and legal obligation to establish if the Act has been violated by a society in ways that border on national interest and security.

In the case of the DAP, its secretary-general, Lim Guan Eng, had maliciously and contemptuously implied that the RoS and government were complicit in ending his political career.

On the 19^th of April 2013, he told a press conference at Wisma DAP in Penang that the RoS was playing politics to sabotage the party’s chances at the (then upcoming) general election, adding that the “evil and wicked” Barisan Nasional government was using “underhanded tactics” to undermine the DAP.

These allegations and others like them, uttered and implied by Guan Eng and his father, Lim Kit Siang, suggest that the government had deliberately used the RoS as a weapon to sabotage the DAP and end Guan Eng’s career.

By virtue of this reasoning alone, the DAP effectively projected its internal problems – brought about by the failure of its own leadership to uphold integrity – onto the national front, turning the issue into a Ministerial concern.

The fact is, Guan Eng and his father fanned unrest – and are still doing so – by casting the government in bad light, implying that Malaysia is being governed by a dictatorship on a witch hunt to destroy its adversaries by abusing its power.

Under the circumstances, Section 5 of the Societies Act 1966 applies.

The section provisions that it is lawful for the Minister, in his absolute discretion, to declare unlawful any society which, in his opinion, is used for purposes against the broader interest of national security.

By implication, a Minister may intervene in cases where the actions or problems of a society is deemed a threat to national security.

Not only is Gobind aware of this, he knows that Zahid reserves the right to declare the party illegal, although, the Minister chose instead to assist the DAP by taking all precautions necessary to ensure the RoS acted professionally.

Can you now see how Gobind misled you?