Malaysia refuses a bid for the new Pejuang political party of former PM Mahathir Mohamad

Last updated on January 17th, 2021 at 06:37 am

KUALA LUMPUR: The request for registration of a new political party headed by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was denied, party lawyer Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi said on Thursday (Jan 7).

The proposal of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) was denied by the Registrar of the Society (ROS) because it was wrongly performed, Mr Mior Nor Haidir said, adding that an appeal could be in the works.

Following the proceedings before High Court Judge Mariana Yahya, he told reporters, “I’m waiting for further instruction from my client as they probably want to appeal to the Home Ministry.”

Mr Mior Nor Haidir said that at 5.50pm on Wednesday, ROS informed pro tem Secretary-General Amiruddin Hamzah of the rejection.

The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) request, led by former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, was also refused.

On Wednesday, the rejection was indicated via email with “no reason given” said MUDA in a Facebook message.

Expressing disappointment over the rejection, MUDA said it had “cooperated fully and fulfilled all requirements for registration”

The High Court was initially scheduled on Thursday to hear Pejuang’s application for a judicial review of the action brought by ROS to postpone the acceptance of the application for registration.

Following ROS’ decision, Mr. Mior Nor Haidir claimed that Pejuang had withdrawn the appeal for judicial review on the ground that it had become academic.

Later on Thursday, Pejuang is expected to hold a media conference on the subject, he added.

On December 10 last year, Mr Amiruddin filed an application for judicial review, nominating the ROS Director-General and ROS as the first and second respondents.

In the application, Mr. Amiruddin demanded a statement that both respondents were in conflict with their constitutional obligations by failing to offer a decision or register Pejuang, and were unfair and in bad faith.

Alternatively, he demanded a declaration that their failure to register the group was contrary to the reasonable expectations of the claimant.

In addition, for both respondents, a judicial order was also sought to send the Pejuang application decision within seven days of the date of the judgment and pay the costs and other relief considered necessary by the court.