Expelled People's Progressive Party (PPP) supreme council member and senator T Murugiah is frustrated over the Registrar of Societies (ROS) ‘slow' response on the status of his appointment as president of the party at an EGM in May.

"I don't know why they are taking so long. For our friend (MCA deputy president) Chua Soi Lek (they decided) so fast," he said, in reference to the quick response Chua received from the ROS on his status in the MCA.

The deputy president's position was in doubt after Chua was sacked from the party, and on appeal after he was reinstated as a member at the Oct 10 EGM, the ROS declared he was still the deputy.

Murugiah ( left ) lamented: bagan pinang 041009 murugiah isa It's nearly a month and I am still waiting for a reply from the ROS as to my status as president."

The deputy minister in the PM's department in charge of the Public Complaints Bureau (PCB), said that he had written to the ROS on Oct 15 on his position.

The PPP disciplinary board had sacked Murugiah for allegedly tarnishing the party's image and his supporters called for an EGM and elected him president.

PPP president M Kayveas and Murugiah have since engaged in a public feud over the president's post, although in August, the ROS confirmed Kayveas as president.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein also confirmed this and explained that it was based on the election of the 2005/2010 supreme council at the PPP's AGM in 2005.

"The show-cause letter was not shown to me and I was not given an opportunity to defend myself in front of the party's disciplinary committee.

"(And) I found out about my expulsion through the media... the accusations made against me are baseless," said Murugiah at a press conference.

'No record of AGM'

Murugiah had appealed to the ROS to reconsider the legitimacy of the EGM which was convened by his supporters.

"The division heads had followed all the proper procedures in the party's constitution and a notice letter was sent out to all party members to inform them of the EGM.

"For seven years, the party did not have any record (of convening an annual general meeting), therefore the party has no standing.

"The party's constitution requires that an AGM be held once every 12 months and if the AGM is still not held, then an additional six months is given... so 18 months in total to convene an AGM.

"But the party still failed to hold an AGM so the party must call for an EGM," he said, justification his appeal to the ROS to recognise him as the elected president.

He said that someone was out to thrash his image as he was accused of bribing a branch chief to secure votes during party election.

"They accused me of bribing one of the branch chiefs to get votes when there was no election.

"Why would I bribe anybody? It is not like I want to be a prime minister so why should I give a RM74,000 bribe to one division head?

"If I had millions in my bank then maybe I could do that," he said.

However, an investigation into the matter by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) cleared him of any wrongdoings, he said.

Murugiah said that if his appeal is turned down, he would be left with no other choice but to challenge the ROS' decision in court.