KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 2 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin denied having any part in rejecting Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s applications to register their political parties.
Confirming that Dr Mahathir’s Pejuang has since filed an appeal over the rejection, Hamzah insisted that their applications had not been in order.
“It wasn’t I who rejected (the applications) but the RoS (Registrar of Societies),” he said at a press conference about the matter today.
Earlier, Hamzah said it was regrettable that he has been accused of blocking the applications of Pejuang and Syed Saddiq’s Muda.
Hamzah also pointed out that Muda has 30 days from the date of rejection on January 6 to file its appeal, based on the Societies Act 1966.
Previously, Dr Mahathir alleged political “motive” behind the RoS’s rejection of his party’s application.
The former prime minister contrasted Pejuang’s attempt to the swift registration of the Perikatan Nasional coalition that included Hamzah’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia party. Hamzah is also the secretary-general of PN.
Last month, Muda sued both Hamzah and the RoS over the rejection and applied for the courts to compel the registrar to complete the party’s registration.