Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) will still function as normal while they appeal the Registrar of Societies’ (ROS) decision to dissolve the party temporarily, said party chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“(ROS’ notice) mentioned dissolved (dibubarkan), which does not mean that we are deregistered (dibatalkan). That will come 30 days after the notice that we have been temporarily dissolved.

“We do not know whether it is ‘bubar’ or ‘batal’, and we are assuming that we can still function for 30 days while we make an appeal, and the appeal will go to the minister concerned that is (Home Minister) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

“So, as far as we are concerned, we are still a functioning party and ROS, for example, cannot take off my picture on the billboard.

“We think we have a right to use our name, wear our logo, etcetera,” Mahathir said during a press conference last night at the Bersatu headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

The press conference, which was held after a special supreme council meeting, was also attended by around 70 Bersatu members and supporters who showed up in solidarity with the party’s leaders.

He clarified again that the party, including the divisions and branches, can still function and the party will carry on with their campaign until the ROS deregisters them permanently.

‘Irregularities with ROS notice’

This contention over the terms ‘bubar’ and ‘batal’ arises from the ROS letter notifying Bersatu of their temporary dissolution, he said.

There are also many other legal irregularities with the notice sent by ROS, Mahathir claimed.

Among them was that the notice was not delivered directly to the Bersatu office bearers, he said, adding that he only received the notice when it was faxed to him by his staff.

“According to law, you have to hand the notice to the person concerned, not to somebody else. But in this case, it was not sent to the person concerned mentioned in the letter,” he said.

Mahathir said they also have evidence that they had already replied to ROS about the issues stated in the letter.

If their appeal to the home minister fails, he said, Bersatu intends to appeal to a court of law instead.

“If the minister says no, we hope to make an appeal to a court of law so that decisions are made according to the law, not according to the whims and fancies of the minister,” he added.

More information on their next steps will be announced tomorrow at their big function at Pasir Gudang in Johor, he said.

“Tomorrow night, we’ll have a very big event in Pasir Gudang, and you are all invited to listen to the great speeches especially by me.

“We are going to make a very important announcement at that meeting with regards to our approach in the coming election.

“What we are going to do and how we are going to do it, we will tell you. No secrets, nothing to hide,” he said.

If the authorities try to stop them from carrying out their party functions, he said they have lawyers who can show that there are no provisions to halt their party activities when they are temporarily dissolved.

The authorities can only stop them when the party has been completely deregistered, he said.

Mahathir also stressed nothing will stop their candidates from contesting in the upcoming general election, expected to be called any time soon.

“One thing is certain, whatever they do to us, we are going to contest (in the election). Even if we have to contest individually, we will still contest.

“There is no way they can stop us from contesting. They may declare our party illegal or whatever, but they cannot declare we are illegal.

“We are legal citizens of this country with the rights of all the citizens of this country, particularly with regards to contesting in the elections,” he said.

Stirred, not shaken

Meanwhile, Bersatu supreme council member Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen also assured their grassroots not to worry about Mahathir’s position as Pakatan Harapan’s prime minister candidate, as well as the seats allocated to Bersatu.

“These things have already been agreed upon by the component parties of Pakatan Harapan.

“No matter what Bersatu’s status is, whether we are dissolved or deregistered, Mahathir’s position as prime minister candidate will remain as well as the seat allocation quota,” he told Malaysiakini.

Bersatu’s candidates for the upcoming general election will also be unaffected by the party’s status, as it has been agreed that all Pakatan Harapan component parties will contest under one banner, that is PKR’s, he said.

Describing Bersatu’s temporary dissolution as an attempt by the ruling party to destabilise Harapan, Rafiq said it had failed to achieve its goal.

“Their attempt has clearly failed because the cooperation between us in Pakatan Harapan is very strong under Mahathir’s leadership,” he said.

Following last night’s event, Bersatu was reported to have filed a judicial review application over the ROS move and for the court to affirm its legality as a political party.