PETALING JAYA: Hamzah Zainudin says the decision to cancel Perikatan Nasional’s registration was a clear sign of “mala fide”, or bad faith, accusing the Registrar of Societies (RoS) of applying the law differently to the opposition coalition and Bersatu.
The Wawasan president also questioned the timing of the move – two days before a court hearing and 11 days before nominations for the Melaka state election. He accused the government of being afraid to face the opposition in a fair contest.
“This move not only ends the legal existence of a political coalition, but also affects voters’ democratic rights in the Melaka state election,” he said in a statement.
The RoS cancelled PN’s registration today after finding that the coalition had failed to give good reasons as to why it should remain registered. The move followed a notice issued on Sept 22 and the suspension of PN’s activities the following day.
The dispute began after Bersatu complained that it had been left out of a PN leadership meeting on July 16. The RoS subsequently questioned whether PN had broken its own rules.
Hamzah, who is the opposition leader, said the RoS had taken a different approach in July when four Bersatu MPs questioned whether a meeting of their party’s top leadership had enough members present to make decisions.
He said the department then cited Section 18C of the Societies Act 1966, which makes a political party’s decisions on internal matters final, and said it could not intervene. However, the RoS later interpreted PN’s own rules and rejected the coalition’s explanation.
“The same law, the same department, but different interpretations depending on who is involved,” he said.
Hamzah also questioned why the RoS proceeded with the cancellation of PN's registration when it had said in an Oct 6 letter that it would answer the coalition’s arguments in court.
On Oct 13, the High Court allowed PN to challenge the RoS’s earlier suspension order but refused to put that order on hold. It fixed Oct 22 to hear another application by PN to suspend the order, with both sides present.
Hamzah said PN wrote to the RoS on Oct 14 asking it not to take further action before the hearing, but received no reply. He said the Attorney-General’s Chambers had also told the court yesterday that the cancellation process was still ongoing.
He said Wawasan and other parties aligned with PN would continue their legal challenge and prepare for the Nov 14 Melaka polls. He also urged supporters to remain calm and follow the law.
Hamzah launched Wawasan in June after his expulsion from Bersatu in February. The party, formerly known as Parti Cinta Malaysia, joined PN the following month. The coalition has since been divided by disputes over its leadership and Bersatu’s place in it.
FMT has reached out to RoS for comment.