PEJUANG will resort to taking over another party’s registration if the Registrar of Societies (RoS) does not approve its application before the 15th general election, said party insiders.

This is one of the options for the Bersatu splinter led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad to contest in the next general election. Another option is to merge with another party.

“We are open to anything for the time being. If our registration does not go through, we might opt to rebrand another party,” said a Pejuang leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Earlier this month, the RoS rejected Pejuang’s application without giving any specific reason. The party has taken legal action.

Pejuang chairman Dr Mahathir blamed interference by Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin, who is also Bersatu secretary-general.

Nonagenarian Dr Mahathir formed Pejuang after being removed from Bersatu, which he also founded in 2016 and led as chairman, when Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin took the party out of the Pakatan Harapan coalition in February last year.

Besides Pejuang, former Bersatu youth chief Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman’s new youth-based party Muda, has also had its application rejected by the RoS.

Pejuang and Muda allege the RoS’s actions are politically motivated and are pushing for a judicial review of the decision.

Following Pejuang’s rejection, speculation arose that the party might take over the registration of smaller party, the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma).

It was also rumoured that Pejuang might contest in the 15th general election using the Amanah logo. Neither rumour has seen further development.

Nevertheless, these options are Pejuang’s best bets, because legal action against the RoS might prove futile, said Singapore Institute of International Affairs’ senior fellow Dr Oh Ei Sun.

The political analyst said the Societies Act, which guides the RoS’s processes, would be used to defend the government agency.

“I think legal avenues would be rather difficult. The Societies Act does not really allow the judicial review of the RoS decision,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Oh said Pejuang and Muda could weigh a merger with other parties or revamp an existing but inactive party.

“They can run as co-ordinated independents where they can use the same logo or they can run under another party’s logo. They could also take over another party. There are plenty of dormant parties,” he added.

Universiti Malaya’s associate professor Awang Azman Awang Pawi also agreed that legal action would not get Pejuang and Muda anywhere.

This is because RoS rejected their applications for political reasons, the Malay studies lecturer and political analyst said.

“It is obviously because of politics that they have not been approved. So, they have to use other options.”

Party takeovers are common in Malaysia, said Awang Azman, citing Warisan, Amanah and PKR as examples.

“They can take over parties that are not active. They only need to have an annual general assembly to change the name and constitution,” he said.

PKR in 1999 took over a small dormant party, Ikatan Masyarakat Islam Malaysia and rebranded it to Parti Keadilan Nasional before merging with Parti Rakyat Malaysia in 2002.

In 2016, Warisan was formed by party president Shafie Apdal when he took over Parti Pembangunan Warisan Sabah. Amanah in 2015 also took over the Malaysian Worker’s Party when a group of leaders spilt from PAS.

Tasmania University’s Asian Studies professor James Chin said, rather than working together with other parties, Pejuang and Muda should rebrand another party to avoid further discord within the opposition bloc. Pejuang and Muda are not currently part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

“If they were to opt for contesting using another party’s logo, such as Pejuang using Amanah’s logo, the move could create further unhappiness among the other ally parties,” he said.

Awang Azman agreed, adding that other PH parties like DAP and PKR would likely be against Pejuang contesting with Amanah.

“If they do end up working together, other parties will be unhappy especially PKR president Anwar Ibrahim,” he said referring to the feud between Dr Mahathir and Anwar, who is also PH chairman. – February 2, 2021.