Muda Won T Appeal Ros Rejection Says Minister S Claims Will Strengthen Court Case

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The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) will not appeal against the Registrar of Societies' (ROS) rejection of its application to be registered as a formal political party.
When contacted, Muda pro-tem committee member Lim Wei Jiet said the decision was made based on alleged statements by Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin, implying the outcome of any appeal against the Jan 6 rejection.
"The reason (to not appeal) was because the minister has already prejudged the issue (application), so there was no point for us to exhaust that (appeal) procedure," Lim told Malaysiakini. 
The lawyer by profession said Muda instead has chosen to go to court with its judicial review leave application, seeking an order to quash the ROS' decision.




Muda pro-tem committee member Lim Wei Jiet

Muda co-founder Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in his affidavit to support the application had pointed to an alleged communication between him and Hamzah on Dec 13 last year, on the then status of Muda’s registration application. 
"The minister replied that I should ‘commit myself’ to the prime minister. He reminded me that I had hitherto been voting against the government in Parliament.
"I again responded to say that I cannot abdicate my duty as an MP and will always vote in accordance with my conscience and the interests of my constituents,” the Muar MP claimed.
At a press conference yesterday, Hamzah claimed Muda's application, together with that of Bersatu-splinter group Pejuang, were rejected due to their non-compliance with provisions under Schedule 1 of the Societies Act 1966, governing its constitution and rules.
In a statement today, Muda denied the claim, saying Hamzah's reasoning has strengthened their case in court.

Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin
"On the issue of the minimum age to join Muda being 16, this is incorrect as our updated constitution, that has been reviewed multiple times by the ROS, has set the age at 18.
"On the issue of maximum age, we would like to stress there is no age limit set in our constitution.
"If the minister (Hamzah) was not briefed properly or failed to read our application form, Muda is an acronym for 'Malaysian United Democratic Alliance'," it said, pointing out that no political parties in the country have an age limit set for their members.
Muda also insisted that it has done nothing wrong and has no fear to face any party in the next general elections.
Unlike Muda, Pejuang pro-tem deputy president Marzuki Yahya yesterday said he expects a favourable reply from Hamzah, who replaced him as Bersatu secretary-general, after considering the party’s appeal letter.
The former deputy minister added that Hamzah was merely reiterating what the ROS had told Pejuang before in a letter received on Jan 6, which was later identified as a misunderstanding at a subsequent meeting two days later.  - Mkini

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