Pakatan Harapan takes legal action against Malaysian Registrar of Societies
22 February, 2018
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan filed an application for legal action on Wednesday (Feb 21) to compel the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to register it as a formal alliance, alleging that the government body had been dragging its feet.
Opposition member of parliament and lawyer Gobind Singh Deo said the coalition needed an answer to its application to register as a formal alliance, submitted last July, in order to prepare for polls that must be held by August.
"We are currently facing a general election and I think that's very important because for purposes of preparation, we have to decide whether we're going to move ahead as a coalition, under one logo and one symbol," he said at the Kuala Lumpur court complex on Wednesday.
"So it affects our campaign and, of course, it affects preparation for our campaign."
The opposition met with the RoS in November, where they said they were informed that problems with two component parties had held up their registration.
However, the opposition said the problems have since been resolved.
The Democratic Action Party had re-elected its central executive committee members for the second time last November after RoS found that results of earlier elections were invalid.
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's party Bersatu has also held an annual general meeting to comply with the RoS' directives.
The previous, now-defunct opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat had also failed to get its registration approved before the 2013 general elections - instead formally contesting under individual party flags and logos.