Political organizations or societies which feed the public with false information on their membership strength for various reasons including those political in nature are liable to a wide range of penalties.

Both office-bearers and members face fines and/or jail terms depending on the gravity of the offences.

The warning came on Tuesday from an officer at the Registrar of Societies (ROS) Perak office, Zahari Abdul Murad, in response to a Malaysiakini follow-up to complaints from a 60 year-old former employee of the Ministry of Finance who had headed various social organizations.

The complainant who declined to be named had said that too many political parties and societies are hoodwinking the public by exaggerating their membership numbers and personal roles to gain political mileage and for personal gains.

"It is about time that ROS steps in and stop the activities of such societies for which some have been formed to get government grants and other monetary benefits, although such societies are dormant," he added.

Penalties for wrongdoing

He also said, "there are too many Indian-based parties making exaggerated claims of their memberships to benefit financially and enhance their political status with the ruling Barisan Nasional, especially Umno".

According to ROS rules and regulations members of political organizations or societies who hood-wink the public with false information on their membership strength or make announcements pertaining to their organizations without getting prior approval from ROS may face imprisonment terms ranging from three months to six months and a fine ranging from RM2,000 to RM5,000 depending on the type of offence committed.

Furthermore, clauses in the Societies Act 1966 (Act 335) and regulations state that every office-bearer of such a society shall deemed to be guilty of such offences and shall be liable to the punishment prescribed by law although the offence has been committed by a member of such a society.

Briefly put, Section 51 (1) of the Societies Act makes clear that where an offence has been committed by the society, in its name or on behalf of the society, every office bearer and others holding responsible positions shall be liable for punishment under the law, unless he or she satisfies the court that the offence was committed without his/her knowledge and he or she had exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Section 51(2) of the same Act states: Any office-bearer and person managing or assisting in the management of such society shall be liable to be prosecuted under this section, notwithstanding that he may not have taken part in the commission of the offence.

Zahari said, "every society has to fill-up Form 9 of the ROS when they make their annual returns to the Registrar and the society has to state the number of memberships in the organization".

He added that fraud, false declaration and misappropriation by members of such societies can be punished under Sections 54 and 54A of the Societies Act with a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or a jail term of not more than six months or both. Section 54A states: Penalty for furnishing false information carries a fine of RM2,000.

As to persons or members of societies making public statements on the activities of the society without ROS approval, Section 50(3) states that displaying any flag, symbol, emblem, badge or other insignia not approved by the Registrar or in contravention of any condition imposed by the Registrar is liable to a jail term of three months or a fine of RM3,000.

As to the complainant's concern over unlawful societies collecting funds from the public, Section 46 states that such persons are liable to a jail term of three years or a fine of RM10,000 or both.