Registration of Societies

• 8 February 2018
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This is governed by legislation that is a hangover from colonial times when control over political activities was deemed necessary. Post Independence governments have seen fit to retain and amend laws to control registration of societies. Such laws. like all other laws, can be misused by undemocratic governments, of which the present Malaysian government is one.

As the societies law effectively allows refusal of registration if certain legal requirements are not fulfilled tyrannical administrations such as the current BN government, are tempted to try to thwart political opposition, seen as threatening their position, by misusing the laws about registration.

Even when there are no sustainable grounds for refusal to register the law, and the Registrar, can be manipulated to delay registration of political parties that appear to the incumbent government as threatening.

This is the position regarding the pending application to the Registrar to register a new grouping of opposition political parties, each of which are already legally registered.

The Act (Section7) requires the Registrar to register applicant societies unless he can be satisfied that the other provisions of the Act justify refusal of registration. That is not the case here where the application is by a grouping of opposition parties, all of which are already registered individually, to operate under a single name.

In failing to act as prescribed by the Societies Act the Registrar opens himself, at least to dismissal from office and possibly to prosecution. It is assumed that he is aware of this so his continuing failure to do what he is paid to do must rest on his belief that the existing government will regain office in the coming election and so protect him from punishment for failure to do his public duty.

If so he is making a serious error of judgment and one that when the present Opposition take power in GE14 will open him to dismissal, loss of pension rights and, possibly, criminal prosecution. He would be well advised to get independent legal advice rather than relying on that of the joke Attorney General. And to do that NOW.