KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — The DAP today told the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to set an appointment if they are keen on finding proof that 500 delegates were unable to attend the party’s central executive committee (CEC) election last year.

DAP’s national legal bureau chairman Gobind Singh Deo (picture) said it is ridiculous for the RoS to demand for proof of the party’s innocence now, when it had already made up its mind over the fiasco surrounding the party’s December polls.

“You do not sentence a person, and after sentencing ask to show evidence that he had done no wrong,” he said at a press conference here.

Yesterday, The Star daily reported that the RoS was still waiting for the DAP to submit letters from the 500 delegates detailing why they were unable to attend the party polls and congress last December 15.

An RoS spokesman was quoted as saying that the party had not delivered the letters to them despite claiming that the documents would help “clear the air” over allegations that 753 delegates could not cast their votes because they were not informed of the congress date.

Gobind said it is pointless for the RoS to be asking for the letters from the 500 delegates who were absent during the party polls, as the registrar had already directed the party to hold fresh elections.

“The RoS, with all the power they have and the manpower, and the time they took, were supposed to verify the complaint. By asking for the letters, is RoS admitting that they did not verify the claim?

“If so, is the RoS willing to accept that their decision had no basis?” Gobind said, referring to the order to hold fresh party polls.

Prior to the 13th general election last May 5, the DAP faced the possibility of being deregistered after the RoS homed in on alleged discrepancies during the party’s elections.

Among the issues was a “technical glitch” in software used to tally votes, which saw Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari — who was then political secretary to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng — secure 20th position and automatically qualify for a spot on the powerful CEC, despite finishing 35th overall on the initial count.

A group of delegates also raised a complaint, claiming that 753 of them did not receive any official notification of the congress date, a charge that the party leadership has denied.

Until recently, the DAP had refused to go along with the registrar’s order for fresh polls, arguing that the RoS did not give any grounds for such an order.

However, it has since decided to agree to the order under protest.

The CEC re-election is scheduled to take place on September 29 in Petaling Jaya.