PAKATAN Harapan has filed an application to compel the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to reply to the pact’s application to be registered as a coalition.

DAP legal bureau chief Gobind Singh Deo said RoS had earlier said it could not register the pact as there were two main issues that had not been resolved.

The first was DAP’s central executive committee elections which it had said was not resolved and the second was Bersatu had not held it inaugural delegates meeting.

“These have been addressed. But we have not received any response from RoS. We request the courts to compel RoS to respond to our letter (on February 6),” Gobind said at Kuala Lumpur High Court today. 

Yesterday PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the pact would take its case to the courts after there had been no response from RoS to its queries.

“We cannot say they have rejected (our application) because they haven’t done it .

“But at the same time we can’t do anything because we are not registered ,” Dr Mahathir said at the Bersatu office in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

The leave application was filed on behalf of the pact’s chief secretary Saifuddin Abdullah, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution, Amanah deputy secretary-general Abang Ahmad Kerdee Abang Masagus and Bersatu secretary-general Shaharuddin Md Salleh.

All the leaders, except Lim, were present in court today.

The application said the decision by RoS to not register PH as a coalition, or to respond to PH’s most recent letter went against the “legitimate expectations” of the applicants and was mala fide.

PH also applied for a mandamus order to compel RoS to register PH as a coalition under the Societies Act 1966.

The application was filed under a certificate of urgency for an early date hearing.

Gobind, who is DAP deputy chairman, said RoS had issued a letter to DAP stating the component party’s central executive committee re-election on November 12 last year complied with all the stipulated requirements.

He added Bersatu has also held its annual general meeting in Johor on December 30.

“There has been no response until now. We take the view as a creature of statute the ROS is duty bound to consider applications of this nature,” Gobind said.

“We have the Societies Act and the RoS. It is my view when the law requires you to apply to (RoS), there is reciprocal duty on the part of (RoS) to at least respond.

“Going by the Societies Act, once the requirements are met ... the party has the right to assume it is legitimate and has the right to carry out its activities.”

Gobind said PH had no choice but to take the legal route. 

“We set up Pakatan Harapan because we feel this is necessary for the purposes of us moving on as a coalition in the next election. 

“By operation of law, this election has to be called sometime toward the mid to the third-quarter of this year.

“That we have applied and there has been no response puts us in a precarious position. There are preparations to be made and we have a lot of things to do. 

“The question is how do we move ahead when we have an application that is pending. There is no answer. There is neither yes nor no. This is something that is not acceptable.”

Bersatu and DAP were said to be the main obstacles in PH’s registration as a legally recognised coalition. PH submitted its application for registration on July 24 last year.

The 14th general election must be held latest by August 23, 60 days after the automatic dissolution of Parliament on June 24.

– February 21, 2018.