Umno member wants to challenge RoS decision, Puad says it is impossible

SHAH ALAM - One Umno member is ready to challenge the Registrar of Societies' (RoS) decision - of accepting the additional motion to not contest the top two posts in the upcoming Umno polls as decided in the 2022 Umno General Assembly (PAU) last month.

Kuala Nerus Umno division member Muhammad Aizat Fikri Mohd Nasir said he is considering submitting an injuction application to the court to temporarily stop the Umno election process which will be contesting positions at the central level, party wings, divisions and branches.

Muhammad Aizat Fikri, who is also running for theUmno Youth exco post, clarified that he did not rule out the possibility of political interference from Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in the latest decision made by RoS, based on Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's statement in a press conference in Penang on Saturday night.

"The complaint made to RoS before was well-founded. Based on the statement made by Umno president, RoS has granted an exemption from compliance to Section 13(1) (c) (14) through Section 70 of the Societies Act 1996 (Act 832) which is an exemption from cancellation and suspension because the organisation had deliberately violated the provisions below.

"It means RoS has confirmed that Umno has indeed committed an offence against the party's constitution and Act 832. However, exemption under Section 70 could only be granted with discretion from the Home Minister who heads the RoS.

"I am confident that RoS has conducted a transparent investigation into the complaints made, but I do not rule out the possibility of the minister's intervention resulting in Umno to be exempted from complying with RoS initial decision," he told Sinar Premium on Sunday.

Muhammad Aizat was commenting on Zahid's statement that he had received a letter from KDN confirming that RoS has accepted the party's resolution to not contest the Umno president and deputy president post.

Zahid, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister said RoS has approved the PAU's motion to not contest the top two posts in Umno the election this year.

Muhammad Aizat stressed that if there was indeed political interference from the existing government, then the RoS decision was negative development for Umno and the Unity Government.

He added that this is because the Unity Government often chants about transformation, institutional reform and the fight against abuse of power in national governance.

"I am confident that the court will be fair as the judges can not be influenced by any individuals with executive power," he said, who will hold a discussion with several lawyers and legal advisors before taking any further action.

Meanwhile, Umno Supreme Council (MKT) member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi said the decision by RoS can not be challenged in court by any individual who are Umno members since the issue involved Umno's internal affairs.

Mohd Puad, who is also Johor state legislative assembly speaker, said there was no question about political interference in the RoS decision because the PAU proposal was made based on the Umno constitution.

"The extra motion (to not contest the Umno president and deputy president post) was not made in a MKT meeting but was left to delegates present during PAU 2022 to either support or reject the proposal made by the Negeri Sembilan spokeperson, which was to increase the motion from seven to eight.

"In fact, the motion had been referred to Umno's lawyer and he was of the opinion that the extra motion did not violate the party's constitution. So there is no question of political interference in RoS decision.

"Umno constitution also does not allow any members to bring any internal party's issue to the court. They can only forward the case to RoS and they can not sue the party," he said.

Universiti Malaysia Pahang constitutional expert Associate Professor Datuk Dr Wan Ahmad Fauzi Wan Hussain said all parties can submit a judicial review in court to challenge RoS decision to allow the top two posts from being excluded in the upcoming Umno elections.

"Everyone can challenge the decision, but only the court can decide whether the judicial review has a strong basis or not.

"The court will make a fair and transparent decision on whether the decision made by RoS is accurate or not, based on the arguments and evidence presented by the plaintiff and defendant during the proceedings," he said.