Perikatan Nasional has filed a judicial review application challenging two notices issued by the Registrar of Societies (ROS), seeking an urgent court hearing before the Election Commission decides the date for the Malacca polls.
PN secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the application was filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court at 10.14am today, with the coalition seeking clarity on its status and whether it can contest the Malacca polls under the PN logo.
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament this morning, Takiyuddin (above) said the application included a certificate of urgency as the EC is expected to decide key dates for the Malacca election on Wednesday (Oct 7).
"We've contacted the EC, and they said the matter depends on the ROS as the regulatory body for organisations, including political organisations," he added.
The former minister said the secretaries-general of five of the six PN component parties have been named as plaintiffs: Saifuddin Abdullah (Wawasan Negara), N Sathes Kumar (MIPP), Wong Chia Zhen (Gerakan), Sazmi Miah (Pejuang), and Takiyuddin himself.
The respondents are ROS director-general Zulkifar Ahmad and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Show-cause notice
On Sept 22, Takiyuddin confirmed that PN received a show-cause notice from the ROS, warning the coalition of imminent deregistration.
It received a separate notice on Sept 23 ordering it to cease activities using the coalition’s name.
At the time, the Kota Bharu MP described the move as politically motivated, adding that it was linked to a complaint by Bersatu over PN’s decision not to invite the party to a coalition meeting on July 16.
Meanwhile, Takiyuddin clarified that the meeting was called to discuss the Negeri Sembilan election and other matters, but PN decided not to invite Bersatu after the party’s top leadership decided on July 15 that it would contest the polls under its own logo rather than the coalition's.
He reiterated his concern that Bersatu’s involvement could invalidate PN’s decisions because the party was unable to meet the quorum required under its constitution for its supreme council meetings.
Takiyuddin said Bersatu’s constitution requires a quorum of 25, but the party currently has only 23 supreme council members.
Differing replies?
Takiyuddin further questioned the ROS’ handling of the matter, citing an earlier complaint by four Bersatu MPs over the quorum issue.
The ROS had responded to the MPs by saying that Bersatu could interpret its own constitution and that the regulator had no power to intervene in the party’s internal affairs, he claimed.
"If that is the case, why did the ROS interfere in PN's administrative affairs?" he asked, adding that the coalition had tried to meet the ROS director-general to resolve the issue but had yet to secure an appointment.
He said PN had also written to the ROS seeking official clarification on its status as a registered political coalition and whether it remained eligible to field candidates in elections, particularly the upcoming Malacca polls.
Takiyuddin also mentioned that discussions were still ongoing within PN on its next course of action should it fail to obtain legal clarity on whether the coalition can contest the Malacca polls using the PN logo. - Mkini
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