TODAY (May 19) was supposed to be the full trial for our case against the Home Minister and the Registrar of Societies (ROS) for their refusal to register the United Rights of Malaysian Party a.k.a. Urimai as a political party.
We were informed that the case needed to be postponed as the judge who took over the case less than a month ago requires time to deliberate on the matter.
This is now the fourth judge hearing the case. All three previous judges scheduled to hear our case were promoted to the Court of Appeal. Urimai’s case certainly seems to bring good luck to judges!
What we can do now is wait for the new dates and, subsequently, the decision. We filed our registration on Nov 1, 2023 but after pursuing it for months, the registration was denied in July 2024.
We immediately filed for Judicial Review at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in the same month. Almost two years later, we are still stuck in legal procedures.
Absurd excuses
Former economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli has taken over the Penang-based Malaysian United Party a.k.a. Parti Bersama Malaysia and re-branded it as BERSAMA. It was a wise move to avoid going through the tedious process of registering his own party.
Despite Malaysia claiming to be a democratic country, it is clearly not easy to form a political party here, especially under this self-serving Madani regime.
Despite having the necessary support and ready infrastructure, we are unable to move forward as a political party.
We are instead operating as a political movement, lacking the necessary legal legitimacy. We are thankful that our ‘allies’ have not shunned us as they recognise the support we have among the masses.
Perhaps it is precisely this support we command among ordinary Indians that is causing Madani to deny our constitutional rights.
The excuses given by both the Home Minister and the ROS in court for refusing our registration are not merely absurd but nonsensical.
Among the excuses given by the Home Minister in his affidavit is that “Urimai did not stipulate that it was being formed to contest elections” despite our clear provision stating that “Urimai would like to participate in the democratic process of Malaysia by taking part in any lawful elections conducted within Malaysia”.
Deny, delay legitimate rights
His other reasonings include claims that “Urimai is a race-based party and its registration would lead to greater division among the people along racial, religious and regional lines”.
The ROS and the Home Minister further claim that Urimai could emerge as a race-based party while conveniently forgetting that half of the country’s race-based political parties are currently part of the Madani coalition.
The Madani regime seeks to use its arbitrary powers to deny the constitutional rights of ordinary Malaysians like us.
They also appear intent on using the court process to delay matters further despite knowing that they cannot legally deny people their fundamental rights.
It is obvious that government institutions, especially the ROS and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) are being used to deny and delay the legitimate rights of Malaysians.
These are the same people who once spoke about reform and institutional independence. Yet, when in power, they seem to become worse than their predecessors.
A former one-term DAP state assemblyman for Bagan Dalam, Satees Muniandy is currently the United Rights of Malaysian Party’s (Urimai) interim secretary.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia
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