THE High Court today dismissed an application by three Barisan Nasional members to initiate a judicial review to challenge Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s decision to exempt the top two positions in Umno from being contested.   

The additional motion for both positions not to be contested was passed at the 2022 Umno General Assembly. 

Judge Amarjeet Singh dismissed the trio’s application on the grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction to hear applications involving political parties as stipulated under Section 18C of the Societies Act 1966. 

Today’s proceedings were attended by lawyer Thalia Rohaina Abdul Latiff, representing the three individuals, while senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly represented Saifuddin and the Registrar of Societies (ROS). 

Kampung Bukit C2 Lembah Pantai Umno members Satarriah Abdul Karim and Zaidi Abdul Majid, and Lembah Pantai MIC branch member P. Vellasamy had filed the bid through Messrs Rohaina & Co at the High Court on May 15.  

Besides Saifuddin, they also named the government, the ROS and Umno as respondents.  

In the application, the applicants said on Jan 13, an additional Umno motion was proposed at the 2022 Umno General Assembly which took place from January 11 to 14, 2023 for the party’s presidency and deputy presidency to be uncontested at the party polls. 

They said on March 2, the ROS director-general issued a letter to the Umno secretary-general, saying that the no-contest resolution was irregular and contrary to Article 9.3 of the party’s constitution, therefore the resolution was deemed invalid. 

According to them, ROS directed Umno to take corrective action to comply with Article 9.3 of the its constitution. 

The trio were seeking a certiorari order to revoke Saifuddin’s decision on March 7, which exempts Umno from complying with Section 13(1)(c)(iv) of the Societies Act 1966, as stipulated under Section 70 of the same act. – Bernama, August 30, 2023.