Parti Pejuang Tanahair (Pejuang) will know on June 23 whether it would get a court order to compel Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin to decide on its application to be registered as a political party.
Pejuang’s counsel Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali confirmed that the Kuala Lumpur High Court today fixed the date to deliver its decision on the fledgling group’s related judicial review.
Previously on April 1, the court granted leave to Pejuang to proceed with the legal bid to compel the minister to make a decision on the group’s appeal to be registered as a political party.
Pejuang’s appeal to the minister is against the Registrar of Societies’ (ROS) decision on Jan 6 to reject the group’s application to be officially registered as a political party.
Today was fixed for an online hearing of the merits of Pejuang’s judicial review to compel the minister to make a decision on the group’s appeal to be registered.
Despite the ongoing legal proceedings, Pejuang reportedly claimed that it received a warning from the ROS on May 10 to cease all membership activities and use of its party logo.
Rafique said judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid set the decision date following the hearing of the merits of the judicial review application.
“The decision has been set on June 23, 2021,” the lawyer said when contacted.
Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly and Mohammad Sallehuddin Md Ali appeared for the two respondents - the minister and ROS.
The decision date on June 23 is in relation to Pejuang’s second legal bid over its registration status as an official political party.
The group is targeting Hamzah’s alleged failure to make any decision over its appeal to be registered as a political party.
The applicant is Pejuang’s sponsor committee secretary Amiruddin Hamzah, with the minister and the ROS listed as the two respondents.
Previously, Malaysiakini reported that Pejuang might go to court again if the minister gave no response to its appeal to be registered as a political party.
Before this, Pejuang had gone to court to challenge the ROS' delay in making a decision over the group’s application to be registered as a political group.
However, the group withdrew that legal action following the ROS announcing its decision on Jan 6 to reject Pejuang’s registration application.
Pejuang was formed last August as an offshoot of Bersatu.
Pejuang pro-tem chairperson and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, pro-tem president Mukhriz Mahathir, and several others were previously ejected from Bersatu for refusing to sit with the Perikatan Nasional government during a parliamentary session.
Among the legal relief sought by Pejuang is a mandamus order to compel the minister to direct ROS to finalise the group's registration as a political party within seven days from the date of the court judgment.
Pejuang seeks a mandamus order to compel the minister to give its decision over the group's appeal against the ROS' move not to allow it to be officially registered as a political party.
Another declaration sought is that the minister's alleged failure to make any decision on the group's letter of appeal to him (minister) dated Jan 8 amounted to a contravention of his statutory duty under Section 18 of the Societies Act 1966.
Section 18 states that a local society or its office bearer may, within thirty days from the date of the decision of the ROS, appeal against the decision to the home minister, and the minister, whose decision shall be final, may confirm, reject or vary the decision of the registrar.
Pejuang also seeks a declaration that the minister's alleged contravention of his statutory duty had "contravened the applicant's valid wish, is unreasonable, of bad faith as well as an uncalled-for attempt to deny the applicant's constitutional right to association and/or Pejuang's constitutional right to contest under its own logo for the general elections".
Before this via a separate email dated Jan 6, the ROS had also rejected the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance's (Muda) application to be officially registered as a political party.
Muda had mounted a failed legal bid to compel the ROS to officially register it as a political party.
Muda, which is spearheaded by former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, had then proceeded to appeal to the home minister against the ROS' rejection of its registration application.
However, on April 26, Muda initiated a second judicial review action, due to the minister’s allegedly yet to make any decision on the group’s appeal for registration. - Mkini
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