Two warring factions within PPP are racing against time to submit documents to the Registrar of Societies (ROS) which is investigating complaints filed by both sides.

Supporters of PPP president M Kayveas are believed to be scrambling to update party records to the ROS which his detractors claimed to have not been submitted since 2002.

This allegation sparked a chain reaction of events, including T Murugiah's sacking from the party, leading to his ‘ election ' as party president during an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on May 24.

kayveas hq pc 050609 Kayveas ( left ) has previously admitted , after some initial denials, that there were documents that were not in order but said the matter was "not fatal" and could be rectified easily.

However, Kayveas is currently being probed by the ROS for breaching the Societies Act 1966, which barred those fined more than RM2,000 from holding office.

Murugiah's supporters have lodged a report with the ROS claiming that Kayveas was not allowed to hold office by virtue of being fined RM5,000 in 2005 by the Bar Council for breaching the Legal Profession Act 1976.

Should ROS decide against Kayveas, it would have far reaching implications that would invalidate his decisions made over the past four years as PPP president.

‘Not criminal offence'

Contacted today, acting secretary-general Simon Sabapathy said he had contacted the ROS two days ago and that fine by the Bar Council was the only issue Kayveas was being probed for.

Simon stressed that the matter was not a criminal offence as the RM5,000 fine was an internal matter of the Bar Council, and thus does not come under the purview of the Societies Act.

"It is only an infringement within members of the Bar Council. It is not a criminal offence, which is what the Societies Act is referring too," he said.

Simon said the ROS was currently seeking written clarification from the Bar Council regarding the incident.

murugiah egm 240509 garland Meanwhile, a check with Murugiah's camp revealed that the ROS was still probing the validity of the May 24 EGM.

Murugiah's ( photo: with garland ) media officer M Jeyaratnam said minutes and other documents pertaining to the EGM were submitted several days after the meet, but the ROS was adamant in wanting more documents.

Possible de-registration?

"Because there were complaints filed (by Kayveas' supporters) on the EGM, the ROS wants more documents, including all the notices (for the EGM) sent to party branches.

"We are compiling the notices from the branches now so that we can show it to the ROS. We want to prove that everything is in order," he said.

Yesterday, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein revealed that the ROS was considering issuing a show cause letter for PPP to explain why it should not be de-registered.

However, he said that the ROS was still seeking explanations from several quarters, but investigations were being hampered by a lack of cooperation from certain groups.

According to New Straits Times , Hishammuddin attended a ROS briefing yesterday in Putrajaya regarding the status of PPP.