Takiyuddin questions if Home Minister vetoed ROS decision

KUALA LUMPUR: A PAS Member of Parliament has questioned if the Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail vetoed the Registrar of Societies' (ROS) decision on Umno's no-contest motion over the top two party posts.

Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Baru) raised the issue after a letter, allegedly issued by the ROS, nullifying the resolution passed by Umno during its general assembly in January.

"I am not sure if this letter is genuine or not but what was said by the Home Minister about an exemption given to Umno under Section 13(1)(c)(iv) contradicts this.

"This issue is of public interest. If this is the practice, can other associations use this as a precedent?" Takiyuddin said when debating Budget 2023 in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (March 7).

He also asked if the decision allegedly made by the Home Minister would be a "binding precedent" when applied to associations that may be aligned to either side of the political divide.

Takiyuddin, who is also PAS secretary-general, said this in reference to an alleged letter from ROS dated March 2 this year, informing Umno that its resolution passed during the party's 2022 general assembly was against the party's constitution and invalid.

On Saturday (March 4), Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party had received a letter from the Home Ministry confirming that the ROS accepted the party's no-contest resolution for the top two posts.

It was reported last month that the ROS was investigating alleged violations of the party's constitution over the issue.

The purported ROS letter has gone viral on social media.

Earlier on Tuesday, Saifuddin confirmed that Umno had been given an exemption under the Societies Act 1966 over its no-contest resolution.