YOURSAY | ROS is in a fix. To paraphrase Hamlet, ‘To do or not to do?’
Rais tells supreme council to seek court declaration on Umno’s ‘legality’
Anonymous Malaysia 2018: Umno veterans Rais Yatim and Rafidah Aziz have voiced their views that no party can get two consecutive extensions for its elections.
The first extension was given some time back. Thus, according to them, the Registrar of Societies (ROS) cannot give a second extension as per the party constitution. If so, then yesterday, April 19, 2018, is the last day for party elections. After that date, Umno becomes an illegal party.
In the rush to prepare for the general election, some leaders have been sleeping. If Umno is deemed an illegal party, then it cannot contest. Right or wrong?
Now, the ball is in the ROS' court. Will ROS be impartial and do the right thing? The people are watching, ROS. The world is also watching.
ROS is in a fix. To paraphrase Hamlet, "To do or not to do?" Rais and Rafidah, as Umno members, have rung the alarm bell. Is anybody there to hear the bell?
Anonymous_b3cdcd05: Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s claim needs to be ascertained.
Umno held its last elections on Oct 19, 2013. Clauses 9.3 and 10.6 of Umno's constitution provide for party elections every three years and in the event the election is not held, it allows an extension of a further 18 months.
Since Umno did not hold its election due on Oct 19, 2016, the 18 months provision allows it to hold it not later than April 19, 2018.
As the ROS has no power to grant a second extension, what is the basis for Tengku Adnan's claim that party elections will be held on April 19, 2019? Was there a second extension given?
If so, is it not ultra vires the party constitution and the ROS powers? Can the ROS please come out of hibernation and clarify the matter?
Vijay47: In this country, should the separation of powers among the legislative, the judiciary, and the executive be clearly and distinctly maintained, any citizen could, on April 20, 2018, seek a declaration from the courts on whether Umno had ceased to be a legal body.
But we know what the reality would be. The courts, and of course, the ROS and the attorney-general, would rule that under discretionary powers not mentioned anywhere, they could decide as they thought fit and hold that Umno remains valid until the moon deserts the sky, the sun turns cold and rivers flow upstream, as Shirley Bassey assures us.
On the other hand, if there were indications that these authorities were going to be less charitable to caretaker PM Najib Razak and friends, its members would suddenly be taken ill and retire on grounds of poor health.
Alternatively, Umno would rule that under its own constitution, the continuing roles of the judiciary and others were no longer tenable and they must stop functioning. Caretaker ministers Khairy Jamaluddin and Azalina Othman Said would explain the fine legal foundation to this stand.
Did I mention that the inspector-general of police and the Inland Revenue Board would spring into action? Yes, they would.
You think this is not possible? Just ask former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail. You are right, Shirley, till the cows come home.
Gerard Lourdesamy: I agree with Rais. The Umno constitution does not permit a further postponement of the elections, and the ROS cannot exceed its powers under the Societies Act 1966 when no such power exists in the Act, let alone the party constitution, to allow such a deferment.
I would advise the Pakatan Harapan parties, excluding Bersatu, to challenge the ROS decision by way of judicial review in the High Court.
You cannot have two different interpretations of the Act by the ROS simply in order to accommodate Umno and undermine Bersatu.
Vijay47: On second thought, it might be better for Harapan to keep quiet for the moment. Then, after the elections, take the matter to court for a ruling that an illegal party had put up candidates. That would see all BN MPs and state representatives being disqualified.
Fresh elections need not be held. If I remember correctly, when a DAP MP was disqualified, the seat went to the man who got the second highest number of votes, who - surprise, surprise - was a BN candidate.
Tholu: Yes, Vijay47. It happened in 1995. MBf had applied to have DAP’s Wee Choo Keong (and two others) held in contempt of court for failing to obey an injunction issued by a court in 1993. As a result, Wee was fined RM7,000.
In 1995, Wee stood for the general elections and won the Bukit Bintang parliamentary seat. Later, his thrashed opponent in the elections, Lee Chong Meng from MCA, filed an election petition to the courts.
The challenge in Lee’s petition was grounded on the fact that Wee had been convicted of an offence of contempt of court and fined RM7,000 and therefore was not eligible to stand for elections.
In a bizarre judgment of the court, instead of ordering the Election Commission (EC) to hold a by-election, which the requirement under the Federal Constitution, the court declared Wee’s opponent Lee Chong Meng from MCA the legal MP.
Lee in the 1995 general election garnered 14,546 less votes than Wee. God and courts work in mysterious ways, don’t they?
Kim Quek: The point is that Umno has rendered itself an illegal party for failing to hold its party election within the time limit set by its own constitution, and ROS has exercised a non-existing power to illegally grant Umno a further extension of time, which is null and void in law.
The EC should immediately prohibit Umno from participating in the 14th general election (GE14).
Unless the EC carries out its above duties immediately, Harapan should seek urgent court intervention to ensure the relevant laws are enforced before GE14 is held.
Varuna: While Rais has spoken with much wisdom about the question of legality on the current status of Umno’s supreme council, it will leave many Malaysians worried as to the mindset of the present leaders in Umno.
One can speculate as to whether unwittingly or wittingly the leaders had been in oversight of the legal status.
Relying on the statement by Tengku Adnan, Umno’s legal status has not been compromised, despite what is contended to be a prohibitive, if not irregular, extension given by the ROS to Umno.
One is left wondering if, given Umno’s dominance in wielding governance power in the country, it did wittingly write its own orders with regard to the extension.
It seems that the victorious General Douglas MacArthur wrote his own orders in defiance of protocol and formality after successfully conducting the Pacific War, only to be politely made to “fade away” for his indiscretions.
Undecided: This just shows one thing. The older generation of Umno leaders who worked with Harapan chairperson and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad are more capable and conversant with the law than the younger leaders now. There is a dearth of capable leaders in Umno.
Cogito Ergo Sum: As a legal expert, Rais can’t be wrong. If he is right, Harapan should challenge Umno’s validity in court as soon as possible. But alas, even if Rais is right, the courts will most likely disagree.
Clever Voter: The country has witnessed a number of dramatic turns of events, as well as controversial legal decisions.
It would not be surprising if noises over the legality of Umno are silenced by a mere stroke of a pen. Double standards would not surprise anyone; after all, this is a land of possibilities.
Ravinder: ROS itself must answer this. Is it empowered to have approved the second extension, given that Umno's constitution only provides for an extension of only up to 18 months?
It behoves ROS to hold a press conference to make a statement on this matter.
If there is a provision in the Societies Act that allows the ROS to approve an extension beyond what the party's own constitution provides for, then ROS must show that provision to the public.
ROS cannot act differently when dealing with Umno and parties in the opposition. If the ROS stays silent, then it must not blame the public if they interpret the silence as indicating that there are hidden hands that direct ROS' actions.
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