RoS’ rejection of Pejuang, Muda applications ‘unacceptable’: Anwar

Opposition leader demands agency make public reasons for denying parties’ registration bid

(The Vibes) – The Registrar of Societies’ (RoS) move to deny the registration of Pejuang and Muda is “completely unacceptable”, said opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said this is because the right of new political parties to be registered is enshrined in the federal constitution.

“We must demand RoS state to all of us why these two parties were denied registration,” the PKR president told The Vibes.

“The office of RoS is not a political tool for the government to use and manipulate to suit their agenda.”

Anwar, who is also Port Dickson MP, said transparency and accountability must be enforced, so that all RoS members realise their responsibility and will be “called to account for their actions”.

Yesterday, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad took RoS to task for allegedly referring to the home minister in its decision to reject Pejuang’s application.

The agency informed the party of the rejection yesterday, citing its “improperly done” registration, a claim that Pejuang refutes.

“So now, the process of administration has become political as they have exceeded the provisions, rules and laws,” Dr Mahathir told the press.

Similarly, Muda yesterday confirmed that its application to register has also been rejected by RoS.

RoS did not state the reason for rejection, Muda said in a statement, adding that it fully cooperated with the agency throughout the registration process.