PETALING JAYA: The wave of public support for Perikatan Nasional (PN) will not be eroded by the coalition’s deregistration earlier today, PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said.
Samsuri, a PAS vice-president, questioned the timing of the decision, given that PN’s application to stay the suspension of its activities had yet to be heard in court.
“What has happened is extraordinary, and possibly even unnatural,” he said in a Facebook post today.
Samsuri claimed that the action taken against PN ahead of the Melaka election was motivated by fear of the coalition.
Earlier today, the RoS said PN’s Oct 12 response to a show-cause notice dated Sept 22 failed to justify retaining its registration.
It said the reasons given “could not rebut the grounds for deregistration, and did not provide strong justification for maintaining the society’s registration”. However, it did not say what the grounds were or what PN had argued.
PN previously obtained leave to commence judicial review proceedings against the suspension by the RoS, and its application to stay the suspension of its activities is set to be heard on Thursday.
PN and PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan today said the coalition would challenge its deregistration and seek a stay of the decision.
The Melaka state election is scheduled for Nov 14, with nomination day set for Oct 31.