How many political parties are there in Malaysia? You’d be surprised

(The Star) – There are currently 62 political parties operating in the country, according to the Home Ministry.

These are parties that are regarded as active and which are registered under the Societies Act 1966.

“As of Oct 25, 2016, the number of political parties that are registered and active under the Societies Act 1966 stands at 62,” Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) said in a written reply to Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut) at the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.

Lim had asked the Home Minister to state the number of political parties that are active and inactive in Malaysia, and to name their respective chairmen or presidents.

He had also asked about the number of new parties that had applied to the Registrar of Societies (RoS).

“At this point in time, there are applications from 21 parties that are still being mulled over by the RoS,” the Minister said in his reply.

On DAP’s status under the RoS, Dr Ahmad Zahid confirmed that the Opposition party was a recognised political organisation registered in accordance with Section 7 of the Societies Act.

The DAP had previously come under scrutiny by the RoS for alleged irregularities in its December 2012 central executive committee (CEC) elections, and the party was ordered to call for a re-election.

However, the results of the re-election also courted controversy as the RoS was unhappy with alleged contradictions in the documents submitted by the party.

In May, Dr Ahmad Zahid told Parliament that the DAP was still under probe by the RoS, saying that the registrar needed to scrutinise in detail the supporting documents submitted by the party.