Pejuang Still Not Registered Despite Amending Party Constitution Court Filing

---

 



Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) has amended its constitution after being directed by the Registrar of Societies (ROS), claimed the party's sponsor committee secretary, Amiruddin Hamzah.
Amiruddin complained that despite complying with the amendments, Pejuang's application to be registered as a political party was still rejected.
These assertions are contained in the written submission for the upcoming April 1 court hearing of Pejuang's judicial review leave application that seeks official registration.
This is the group's second time going to court to compel the home minister and the ROS to register it as a political party.
Before this, Pejuang had gone to court to challenge the ROS' delay in making a decision over the group's application to be registered as a political group.
However, the group withdrew that legal action following the ROS announcing its decision on Jan 6 to reject Pejuang's registration application.
Pejuang was formed last August as an offshoot of Bersatu.
Pejuang pro-tem chairperson and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mahathir, pro-tem president Mukhriz Mahathir, and several others were previously ejected from Bersatu for refusing to sit with the Perikatan Nasional government during a parliamentary session.
According to a copy of the written submission filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today, Amiruddin contended that Pejuang has abided by every condition set by ROS.
"The decision of the second respondent (ROS) in rejecting Pejuang party's registration on the allegation that Pejuang's constitution failed to abide by Schedule 1 of the Societies Act 1966 is something that is not rational and reasonable.
"This is because the applicant (Pejuang) has fulfilled every condition fixed by the second respondent, including the amending of Pejuang's party constitution on the second respondent's direction," Amiruddin said.
"Furthermore, the applicant submits that Pejuang's party constitution abided by Schedule 1 of the Societies Act 1966.
"However, the registration application was rejected by the second respondent by hiding behind non-compliance with Schedule 1 of the Societies Act 1966. This is clearly a decision that is not rational and reasonable.
"Therefore, there is no reason for the first respondent (home minister) to maintain the second respondent's decision in rejecting Pejuang's registration," he said.


Through the court filing, he assured that the judicial review leave application is not meant to transfer to court the power to greenlight Pejuang's registration.
He contended that the legal action instead merely seeks either a mandamus order for the minister to decide on Pejuang's appeal against the RoS' refusal to register it, or for a mandamus order to compel the minister to direct RoS to finalise the group's registration as a political party.
Before this via a separate email dated Jan 6, the ROS had also rejected the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance's (Muda) application to be officially registered as a political party.
Muda had mounted a failed legal bid to compel the ROS to register it as a political party officially.
Muda, spearheaded by former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, had then proceeded to appeal to the home minister against the ROS' rejection of its registration application.
However, on March 25, Muda issued a one-week ultimatum for the Home Ministry and ROS to decide on its appeal to be registered, or the fledgeling group would go to court again over the matter. - Mkini

---