Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today the Registrar of Societies (ROS) acted professionally in handling the issue over the registration of the opposition Pakatan Harapan pact.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, said the registration of the pact was linked to the ongoing ROS investigation into the position of Bersatu.

He said the settlement of the application for Harapan registration could not be done in isolation of the Bersatu issue because Bersatu was one of the four component parties of Harapan.

"As explained by the ROS director-general, the scrutiny did not just cover the Harapan application for registration but also took into account the complaints ROS has received from Bersatu members.

"Bersatu is one of the component parties of Harapan. As such, I believe ROS is only being fair and discharging its responsibility professionally,” he said at a press conference after Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Malaysia Mahmoud Hussien Saeed Qattan called on him at his office in Putrajaya.

Ahmad Zahid was asked to comment on several opposition leaders filing a case against the ROS on Feb 21 alleging that it had failed to respond to the Harapan application for registration.

However, a day later, about 1,000 grassroots members and several former senior Bersatu leaders gathered in front of the ROS head office here urging for action against Bersatu for alleged violation of the party constitution.

Ahmad Zahid said he had never intervened because the action by the ROS was operational in nature and did not touch on the policies of the ministry.

Asked about the issue over Robert Kuok, he advised all quarters not to politicise the matter and to respect the tycoon’s statement that he had a deep appreciation for the opportunities he had in the country.

It had been alleged that multi-billionaire Kuok was funding various political parties to overthrow the government, and several leaders then criticised Kuok, but Kuok’s office issued a statement to deny the allegations.

- Bernama