KUALA LUMPUR— The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition will still be able to contest in GE14 even if its component party Umno is declared illegal, the party’s lawyer said today.
Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, who is representing Umno in a lawsuit here, said that BN is a registered society with its own registration number and with 13 component parties including Umno.
“So whether Umno gets declared illegal or not will not have even a slightest iota of bearing to Barisan Nasional contesting,” he told reporters at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today.
He said BN, instead of Umno, will be nominating its election candidates this Saturday, and that the watikah or appointment letters that candidates will bring will be signed by the BN chairman.
“So this issue, this polemic about Umno not allowed to contest does not arise, because Umno is not going to contest this coming Saturday.
“Barisan Nasional is a separate entity altogether from Umno and it is Barisan Nasional candidates who are contesting,” he told reporters at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today.
Umno had sought to attend the hearing today of 16 former party members’ bid to have the High Court hear their lawsuit to declare the party illegal.
Last Friday, then Seri Merpati Pandan Indah Umno branch chief Salihudin Ahmad Khalid and 15 other then Umno members filed for judicial review against the Registrar of Societies (RoS) and Umno executive secretary Datuk Ab Rauf Yusoh.
The 16 had sought for several court orders, including the quashing of RoS’ approval for the extension of time for Umno’s party elections.
They also sought for a court order to compel the RoS to probe all complaints made by party members regarding the legitimacy of Umno, as well as a court order to compel RoS to issue a notice to temporarily suspend Umno’s operations and activities until the end of this lawsuit.
They also sought for court declarations that all Umno branches are automatically dissolved and without valid legal powers for any political activities since March 1, and that all Umno divisions and Umno supreme council were also automatically dissolved since April 20.
They also wanted the courts to declare Umno invalid and have the party dissolved since April 20. – https://www.malaymail.com
MEANWHILE, according to Malaysiakini:
The High Court of Kuala Lumpur has fixed tomorrow morning to deliver its decision on whether to grant leave to 16 “sacked” Umno members on their judicial review application in seeking party’s dissolution over irregularities in the leadership elections.
Earlier today, Justice Kamaludin Md Said told Umno lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun to leave and not submit on this issue as this was an ex parte application against the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
Umno 16’s lawyer Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla also informed the court that they have filed contempt papers yesterday against Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor for making comments over the purported expulsion of the 16 following their legal action.
Hafarizam then left the chambers of Justice Kamaludin, while Haniff and senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, who appeared for the ROS, remained to present their submissions.
Haniff submitted that any application to sack party members for bringing party matters to court under Section 18C of the Societies Act 1966 was unconstitutional, following decisions of the Federal Court in the Semenyih Jaya Sdn Bhd and Indira Gandhi cases.
Shamsul meanwhile argued that under Section 18C, party members cannot bring their political matters and disputes to court.
– M’kini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.