PETALING JAYA: Perikatan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar has questioned the timing of the coalition’s deregistration, which came just days before candidate nominations for the Melaka state polls.
He described the move by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) as extraordinary and alleged that it was politically motivated.
"What happened (just) before the case is brought to court was extraordinary, indeed, almost unprecedented," he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 20).
ALSO READ: PN has been deregistered, says ROS
Earlier in the day, the ROS announced Perikatan's deregistration.
It said Perikatan had been issued a notice dated Sept 22 to submit an explanation and representations on matters raised under Subsection 13(2) of the Societies Act 1966.
"After examining all the submitted documents and explanations, we found that the reasons given did not refute the grounds for deregistration stated in the notice or provide sufficient justification for maintaining the coalition’s registration.
"Consequently, we have decided to cancel Perikatan’s registration under Subparagraph 13(1)(c)(iv) of the Societies Act," the statement read.
Ahmad Samsuri said the timing was particularly questionable as the Election Commission (EC) had sent a letter to Perikatan just two days earlier seeking its response on the use of the coalition’s logo.
ALSO READ: PN to challenge deregistration
He said the sequence of events leading up to the announcement of candidates for the Melaka election pointed to an attempt to undermine the coalition.
"Remember, the people’s wave cannot easily be extinguished by politicians hiding behind their positions of power," he said.
Nominations for the Melaka election will be on Oct 31, with early voting on Nov 10 and polling day on Nov 14.
