All is not lost for Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) as there is still time and avenue for appeal , said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today.

Bernama quoted him as saying that he was waiting for the party to appeal against its de-registration by the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

"The party's case is not over yet," he said after attending the Backbenchers' Club Aidilfitri luncheon in Putrajaya.

On Friday, the ROS deregistered PBDS after being dissatisfied with reasons given in response to the show-cause letter following the party's prolonged leadership crisis.

On speculation that former party president Leo Moggie would resign as Energy, Communications and Multimedia Minister following the de-registration, Abdullah said: "(Leo) Moggie did not inform me about the press report (saying) that he wants to resign."

On reports of groups within the PBDS wanting to form a new party, Abdullah, who is Barisan Nasional chairperson, said: "...that's their respective decision.

"Secondly, whether we want to approve the application by the new party is a decision that lies with the ROS."

Urgency recognised

On the "confrontation" between the Anti-Corruption Agency and cabinet ministers concerning investigations into alleged corrupt practices, the prime minister said he did not want to comment merely on press reports.

"Probably the newspapers did not report what was actually said by the parties concerned," he said, without elaborating on who the parties referred to were.

Previously, he had urged the ACA to speed up action on cases under investigation so that they could be promptly submitted to the Attorney-General's Chambers for further action.

"That's what I said to them. As such, I hope there won't be any more doubts or misinterpretation on how the ACA should carry out their task in this matter," he said, adding that he would meet the parties concerned.

"I think the urgency on both sides is recognised," he said.

Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohamed Nazri Aziz reportedly said today that the ACA has until the end of the month to complete its investigation into allegations that one individual was given 6,000 taxi permits.

Rural Development Minister Azmi Khalid also urged the ACA to be more pro-active in completing their investigations to avoid allegations that the government was trying to "cover up" corruption.