ROS rejects application from Pejuang to be registered as political party

PETALING JAYA: The Registrar of Societies (ROS) has rejected the application by Parti Pejuang Tanah Air to be registered as a political party.

Pejuang lawyer Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi confirmed that the ROS had sent a letter to them on Wednesday (Jan 6) on its decision.

"They have rejected our formal application, " he told The Star on Thursday (Jan 7).

In December last year, Pejuang had filed a judicial review application to compel the ROS to decide on its registration status.

Mior said that the leave application for a judicial review of the case was supposed to be heard on Thursday, but it has since become academic as the ROS had made its decision.

The ROS has not responded to The Star's request for comments.

In a press conference on Thursday pro-tem Pejuang chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed that the ROS' rejection of the application was politically motivated and would file an appeal against the decision.

"According to the law, we are allowed to file an appeal, so we will do it. We have always followed the rules. We believe in the rule of law," he said.

He said the party had done everything in accordance with ROS rules, but its application still got rejected.

"Our secretary-general met with the ROS numerous times. In the last meeting, they informed us verbally that everything with our application is okay.

"However, the ROS said it had to be referred to the Home Minister. And our application is now rejected.

"An administration process has become political," said Dr Mahathir.

Pro-tem Pejuang secretary-general Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah said the application was submitted to the ROS on Aug 19.

"We have proactively been in touch with the ROS after submitting our application.

"On Sept 28, I attended a meeting with the ROS and we were informed about certain things in our proposed constitution that need to be amended.

"So we did everything that ROS required us to do.

"But after that, we have not heard any feedback on whether our application had been accepted or rejected.

"The ROS gave the reason that our application was not organised according to their laws. We feel that we have complied with all the requirements," said Amiruddin.

Last year, Pejuang submitted an application to the ROS to become a registered political party.

The application was made at the ROS headquarters in Putrajaya on Aug 19.

It was submitted to ROS director-general Masyati Abang Ibrahim.

"We hope that the party is registered as soon as possible so that we can take part in the democratic process of the country," former Kedah mentri besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir told reporters after he and several others submitted the application.

In October, the ROS then brushed aside a complaint by Pejuang claiming that there has been no word on the party's application.

The ROS in a statement on Oct 30, 2020, said it had held several discussions with the Party's Sponsor Committee for reviews and opinions before taking further action.

It said the application for registration was still under review and, moreover, the application submitted did not fully meet the requirements.

The ROS asked Pejuang to communicate directly with it to complete all the registration requirements.

On Dec 10, Amiruddin filed a judicial review application to challenge the action of the ROS, which had yet to approve the party's registration.

In the application, Amiruddin applied for a declaration that the actions of both respondents in not giving any decision or registering Pejuang was in conflict with the statutory obligations of both respondents, as well as unreasonable and mala fide (in bad faith).

He also alternatively applied for a declaration that the failure of both respondents to register the party's registration application as a registered organisation is contrary to the applicant's legitimate expectation.