THE Registrar of Societies (RoS) has not approved Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) registration as component party Bersatu is still under investigation, said a statement from the Home Ministry in Dewan Rakyat today.

The investigation was in relation to Bersatu’s annual general meeting, which the party held at the end of last year.

“RoS has received the application for registration from PH as well as reports in relation to its component parties, DAP and Bersatu.

“RoS is still conducting investigations into various complains it received about Bersatu to ensure that the party’s annual general meeting held on December 30, 2017, was conducted in line with the party’s constitution,” the Home Ministry said in a written reply.

The reply was in answer to a question by Sim Tze Tzin (PKR-Bayan Baru), who asked the ministry to state whether there were additional criteria being imposed on PH’s application.

Sim asked the ministry to explain why RoS had not approved PH’s registration and its logo since all requirements involving DAP and Bersatu had already been fulfilled.

The PKR MP said the Home Ministry’s written reply, dated March 6, looked like an excuse from RoS to deliberately delay the registration of the opposition pact.

“It has been more than 70 days since Bersatu held its annual general meeting. Why hasn’t RoS completed its investigation?

“We would like to assume the best about RoS but the people cannot help having the perception it is slow, inefficient or perhaps deliberately delaying the registration process,” Sim told reporters in Parliament.

The general election must be held by August and PH planned for all four parties – Bersatu, DAP, PKR and Amanah – to use a single logo from one of the parties since the pact’s logo has not been accepted.

PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad lashed out at RoS, accusing it of purposely delaying registration to make PH’s campaign difficult.

Sim said Bersatu and DAP were already registered parties and the complaints by disgruntled members were just “thorns in the flesh”. 

“These complaints should be disregarded,” he said. – March 8, 2018.