KOTA BARU: Perikatan Nasional (PN) had invited Bersatu to attend a supreme council meeting as early as Sept 20, but it was postponed due to a commitment involving the coalition chairman, said Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
The Parti Wawasan Negara (Wawasan) president said the invitation, extended after the High Court granted a stay on the suspension and deregistration of PN, was not the first time the coalition had invited Bersatu to the meeting.
"This is not the first time PN has invited Bersatu to a meeting. The first invitation was issued on Sept 20, but the meeting was postponed because the chairman had other commitments," he told reporters.
The invitation comes amid an internal dispute that threatened PN's status as a registered political coalition.
The dispute began after Bersatu lodged a complaint with the Registrar of Societies (RoS), alleging that it had been excluded from a PN Supreme Council meeting on July 16. The party also questioned its membership status within the coalition.
RoS confirmed receiving the complaint on Aug 11 before issuing a show-cause notice to PN on Sept 22, requiring it to explain why its registration should not be cancelled.
The following day, RoS suspended PN's activities under subsection 13(2A) of the Societies Act 1966.
On Oct 20, RoS cancelled PN's registration under subparagraph 13(1)(c)(iv) of the same Act.
Hamzah said PN had previously taken similar action against Parti Rakyat India Malaysia (MIPP) after receiving complaints about internal problems within the party.
He said a letter had been sent to MIPP asking it to resolve the issues, adding that the party would not be invited to meetings until they were settled.
"Before the meeting even started, MIPP had already said it received a letter. The same thing happened to Bersatu.
"If I were the secretary-general, I would do the same thing," he said.
Hamzah said PN secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, a lawyer, was expected to act in accordance with the law and regulations.
He said Takiyuddin should not be blamed for carrying out his duties according to the rules.
"He is a lawyer, so his job is to follow the law and regulations. This should be accepted positively," he said.
Yesterday, Takiyuddin said the coalition would convene a meeting soon following the High Court's decision to grant a stay on the RoS action.
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